Across any industry, it’s always advisable to keep a watchful eye to understand and track the risk of digital media fraud. For the insurance industry, which already plagued by billions in fraud annually, addressing fraud risk is critical.
Here are some of the ways that fraudulent, inaccurate, or missing media can enter insurance transactions:
- Old photos – where time or date may be changed
- Photos of property damage can be taken at the wrong location
- Stock photos downloaded from the internet used for underwriting or claims
- Photos of photos or screen captures
- Altered photos/videos of damage used to exaggerate the amount of damage
- Altered photos/videos of repair work, where in reality the repair work was not properly completed or completed at all
- Pre-existing damage to an insured asset that was never recorded
While these are just a handful of possibilities highlighting potential fraud risks, each of these cases depicts the inherent vulnerability of accepting media directly from insured customers or outside parties.
While some of these methods do require technical skill, others can be done by primitive means such as taking photos from the wrong location. Ultimately, even opening a photo editor to make edits to digital photos is considered child’s play these days.
Taking Action Now
While the threat of media fraud does not portend good news, there is hope for those who take action. Insurance and IT leaders, who make provisions to stop fake media now, can create a secure digital foundation that will be resilient to this threat in the future. And by doing so, they can prevent their organizations from becoming victimized.
To keep reading about digital media fraud and the impact within the insurance ecosystem, get our ebook on combatting digital photo and media fraud in insurance.
