Moped garages visited by officers as part of drive to tackle moped-enabled ‘crash for cash’ fraud

Five moped garages have been visited by the City of London Police's Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) and the City of London Corporation’s Trading Standards officers as part of the unit's ongoing work to tackle moped-enabled 'crash for cash' fraud.

Officers from IFED accompanied City Corporation’s Trading Standards officers during their inspections of three premises in Croydon, Harlesden and North Finchley on 11 June 2024 to ensure that the businesses were complying with the law and to address any non-compliance. IFED officers also visited two premises in Clapham and Newham for community engagement and to speak to employees about ‘crash for cash’ fraud.

Moped garages may unknowingly house vehicles that are linked to ‘crash for crash’ fraud, a term given to incidents where fraudsters deliberately cause road traffic collisions for the purpose of gaining compensation from insurers.

Critically, ‘crash for cash’ fraud can pose a threat to the safety of innocent motorists, as criminals may induce a collision by deliberately crashing their vehicle into another. In other instances, fraudsters may submit completely fabricated claims on insurance for accidents that never took place.

One person was arrested on suspicion of immigration offences and three mopeds were seized in connection with stolen vehicle reports, with one of the bikes already returned to their rightful owner. Hundreds of moped license plates were identified and logged for research purposes, with a number linked by the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) and Metropolitan Police Service to known ‘crash for cash’ reports.

A/ Detective Inspector Marek Coghill, from the City of London Police's Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), said:

"'Crash for cash' fraudsters have no regard for the consequences of their actions and place financial gain above all else. Not only can they put the safety of innocent motorists at risk in order to make money, their actions also drive up the cost of insurance premiums for all drivers.

“By attending these inspections, we are creating a hostile environment for any potential fraudulent activity, whilst maximising intelligence opportunities and actively engaging with occupants and local communities about the issue. This coordinated day of action sends a clear message to these fraudsters and commercial parties complicit in, or essential to, the incident claims, that we are working to ensure that they have no space to operate.”

The inspections were coordinated by the City Corporation's Trading Standards and supported by other London area Trading Standards teams. The IFB provided support from within IFEDs intelligence hub.

The City Corporation’s Trading Standards team is overseen by the organisation’s Port Health and Environmental Services Committee. Its Chairman, Mary Durcan, said:

“This fraudulent activity is putting innocent drivers’ lives at risk and hitting law-abiding motorists hard in the pocket. Our Trading Standards team works in partnership with a range of agencies to enforce the law.

“Taking the partnership approach can solve the most difficult problems while to protecting consumers and reputable businesses.”

Reports from multiple insurers of induced collisions involving mopeds across London show that moped-enabled 'crash for cash' fraud is a growing issue. Over 2,250 people in London fell victim in the two years leading up to June 2023, according to the IFB.

IFED and its partners are working hard to establish links between garages that allegedly store and repair mopeds, and other associated enabling services, that are believed to be involved in the profiting from staged 'crash for cash' incidents.