More than 1.5 million Queenslanders were targeted by relentless car crash scamming phone calls until Queensland CTP scheme reforms were introduced in 2019.
The reforms stemmed the tide, but scammers don’t stop – they keep looking for ways to scam innocent people.
Scam Awareness Week from 8 – 12 November plays an important reminder for everyone to remain vigilant.
“As the first State in Australia to proactively introduce legislation around CTP insurance car crash scams, we remain committed to protecting Queenslanders,” Insurance Commissioner Neil Singleton said.
“Two years on we have seen a significant drop in the number of complaints, but we still receive some reports of car crash scamming since our legislation was introduced in 2019 so we know we have more to do. Scam Awareness Week provides an important reminder of talking to family and friends who may be vulnerable to scammers.
“Car crash scammers (also known as ‘claim farmers’ in the insurance industry) contact you and pretend to help you make an insurance claim. What they really do is sell your personal details to make money,” Mr Singleton said.
‘We are looking at variations of the scams where people are now being tricked into calling the scammers. It’s the scammers’ way of trying to get around the reforms but we are alert to this. So long as the scammers cannot on-sell a referral to a law firm their business model is unlikely to remain viable. Our focus is on shutting down this insidious practice.’
“Preserving the integrity of Queensland’s CTP insurance scheme and protecting Queenslanders from aggressive phone calls and privacy breaches is at the heart of our car crash scammer legislation. Through our ongoing collaboration and support from insurers, the Queensland Law Society, and law firms we know our reforms remain well supported,” Mr Singleton said.
Queensland motorists are reminded to hang up and report possible car crash scammer calls via the MAIC website: maic.qld.gov.au/hangup