ICBC fraud does not pay

March is, apparently, Canadian Fraud Prevention Month. Typically, we see on the evening news, a law enforcement person explaining the latest fraud to come down the pike, being perpetrated upon innocent victims in our community or province. We shake our heads, perhaps wondering aloud about the people who commit these crimes. Then we turn away, safe in the knowledge that we would never stoop low enough to do such a thing.

We would do well, however, to take heed of the fact that many of these frauds are committed by ordinary people -– people like you or me — who unexpectedly find themselves involved in something they know is wrong, something they never planned on doing. The fear of repercussions is so great that they instinctively lie in order to cover it up. It can happen to any one of us, even if we think we are above such behavior.

ICBC has many stories to tell about people who lied and got caught. A great many of them didn’t start out to do what they did. Here are a few of those stories, straight from the fraud files of ICBC.

1. One owner called police to report a stolen car – two hours after it was involved in a crash. He told police it had been stolen two days earlier but he just now noticed it was missing. His story fell apart when ICBC’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU) was able to confirm that he called a taxi minutes after the crash from a nearby location. He ended up pleading guilty to driving while disqualified, hit and run, public mischief and fraud and was ordered to pay almost $50,000 for the cost of damages.

2. Another driver totaled his boss’s truck then lied to police about it being stolen. End result: he was fined $4,000 because, as the judge said: “When someone abuses the insurance system, they are effectively defrauding their fellow citizens.”

3. Two hours after his car was destroyed by fire, the owner called police to report it stolen. Evidence presented in court led to a confession that he had set fire to the car himself to collect the insurance. He was sentenced to 12 months probation, 100 hours of community service and was ordered to pay the Fire Department almost $1,000 to cover part of the cost of putting out the fire.

4. A recent crash teaches us all a lesson about the importance of correctly answering the annual insurance renewal question: “Are you the principal operator?” Falsely declaring someone else as the principal operator saved one owner a few hundred dollars in premiums on a brand new vehicle, but it was totaled in a crash and now the owner is out of pocket about $50,000. Please check your policy to ensure you don’t make the same costly mistake.

5. A young driver learned an expensive lesson about the perils of ignoring the requirements of the Graduated Licensing Program and then lying about it. Driving without an experienced driver over 25 in the car is not allowed for “Learners”, but that was the case when the young driver crashed her father’s car. To make matters worse, she lied about being alone. Witnesses told a different story which, resulted in a court-ordered payment of $26,000.

There is a high cost to lying. The liar pays for his lie and every ICBC customer pays anywhere from $100 to $150 per year on his auto insurance, just because that lie and thousands more.

Each year, ICBC invests nearly $8 million in fraud prevention. More than 2,800 cases of alleged fraud were investigated last year. Every tip and every allegation is taken seriously.

The public can help by reporting suspicious, exaggerated or fraudulent claims to ICBC’s fraud tips line at 604-661-6844 or 1-800-661-6844, toll free from anywhere in the province. Tip information is confidential and callers can remain anonymous.