What is an insurance scam?
A scam is a fraud in which people steal from each other or your identity. The goal is to take advantage of your sense of security. You’ll usually find many different scams on the internet. One of the most popular and profitable is through insurance scams. Some of them are pretty straightforward and easy to spot, others are a bit more complicated and shady. The best way to get ahead of them is to educate yourself! You can start with our guide:
Naughty Avatars
The following comes from the Digital Consumer Protection group at TU Delft and has been approved by Google for Internet Safety Month.
How do insurance scams work?
A scam is an offer that sounds too good to be true. There are many scenarios where someone tries to scam you. Here are a few examples:
You are about to buy a car. You receive an email from a small company with a special promotion. The company sends you a discount coupon that contains a portion of the down payment. You’ve been offered a nice discount on your loan. They will send a check, which will include the bonus amount, in case you pay them the rest of the money in advance. You receive a check with a large fee on top. This fee represents the percentage of the cost of the car you’ve already paid, and you have no recourse against it.
Many people fall victim to these types of scams.
How can we avoid falling for scams?
Pay attention to the
company’s
logos
and wording
Be wary of
“too good to be true” offers
Know the company’s
owners
We have a best practice here in Health Tech. We are not involved with the insurance industry. That being said, we do see the dangers of the high pressure tactics employed by insurance agents. No business should be paying customer service reps based on how many calls they make. Too many calls are straining the customer service rep’s ability to focus on important things—like taking care of the customer’s problem. Take note of the following red flags to know if you are dealing with a scammer.
What do we do if we fall for a scam and need help?
Don’t suffer alone.
When something goes wrong with your life, you should be able to reach out to people who care about you and help you out. Look for the physical signs of being hurt. Stiffness is a sure sign you need medical attention. Stop breathing.
If this fails, get in touch with local authorities.
Don’t confuse scams with legitimate life insurance companies.
Most companies you will encounter will come with the proper fee, terms and conditions, and may even have a dedicated customer care unit to help you. But if you are already in the process of buying insurance or already have a policy, you should absolutely keep the terms and conditions in your hand, read up on them, and question any terms that don’t make sense.
Don’t buy a policy on the fly.