The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) signed a new intelligence sharing agreement with NAFN Data & Intelligence Services. This will see intelligence on known fraudsters shared between the insurance industry and local authorities. NAFN works as a central hub for councils and other public sector members to share fraud intelligence and gather evidence to support criminal investigations. Users include council trading standards and housing benefit departments, and corporate fraud teams.
A pilot project will initially see the IFB working alongside local authorities from north London boroughs. Stephen Dalton, Head of Intelligence at the IFB, said: “The IFB’s strength has always been built on the power of the collective. Intelligence sharing agreements grant the IFB access to a wealth of new data from partners who are fighting financial crime in other sectors across the UK. IFB fraud analysts use world-leading software to interrogate over 130 million insurance records, building evidence against and convicting fraudsters. Of course, fraudsters targeting our industry are likely to be involved in criminal activities affecting other sectors and visa-versa. By sharing intelligence across sectors and geographical boundaries, we close the net on criminals abusing the system.”
And Jeremy Frost, Intelligence Manager at NAFN, said: “Our new close relationship with the IFB will help move us into a new era of data sharing, an area that is heavily endorsed by the Cabinet Office and the National Fraud Authority. We have known for some time that criminals do not just target one organisation; better sharing of data with others will make their life harder and ultimately lead to reductions in fraud loss.”
To contact the IFB’s free and confidential Cheatline with information on insurance fraud call 0800 422 0421 or online www.insurancefraudbureau.org/report
