[Exclusive] "We'll pay 1.7 million won. You crash into my car with a 37-year-old woman inside"... 'Perpetrator-Victim Collusion' Disguised as 'High-Paying Part-Time Job'

"Looking for an attacker"
Reporter makes contact... Collusion becomes even more secretive on SNS
Insurance fraud involving three or more people reached 74.2 billion won last year
Fraud amount by groups of three or more surges...
Long-term insurance up 88.5%, auto insurance up 10.1% in three years

"Looking for an attacker. Must own a car, have comprehensive insurance, and be reliable."

On April 15, after seeing a post on a social networking service (SNS) recruiting for "high-paying part-time jobs," the reporter contacted Mr. A through Telegram. Mr. A was secretly recruiting for so-called "insurance fraud" part-time jobs involving intentional car collisions. The "attacker" he was seeking would play the perpetrator's role in a collusive insurance fraud scheme, where the perpetrator and victim conspire together.

Mr. A first asked about the car model, age, and insurance company. When the reporter replied, "K5, 28 years old, Carrot General Insurance," Mr. A was dissatisfied with the fact that the insurer was Carrot. He explained that Carrot policyholders install a device in their vehicles with location tracking capabilities, which could potentially expose the fraud. He also meticulously checked whether the applicant had comprehensive insurance and personal liability coverage (type 2), among other details, in order to maximize the insurance payout.

Through the conversation, it became clear that Mr. A was a kind of broker who did not directly participate in the staged accidents. He operated behind the scenes, preparing the victim's vehicle, recruiting people, designing the scenario, and distributing the proceeds. He said a woman in her 30s was already waiting to play the victim's role. He maintained a principle of never using the same car for more than one accident. He boasted that, by always using different names and vehicles to claim insurance payouts, he had never been investigated in the past seven years. After probing for more information, he offered a part-time payment of 1.7 million won.

Since the amendment of the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud on August 14 last year, acts of brokering, soliciting, or advertising insurance fraud have also become punishable offenses. However, advertisements for insurance fraud still persist on SNS. Fraud rings have become even more secretive, using their own jargon to recruit members and carrying out detailed execution plans in secret Telegram chat rooms.

A reporter from this publication saw a post on social networking service (SNS) seeking "high-paying part-time jobs" and communicated with recruiter Mr. A through Telegram. Mr. A was recruiting for so-called "insurance fraud" part-time jobs involving intentional car collisions. Screenshot from this publication's reporter SNS.

Insurance Fraud Becoming More Organized and Large-Scale... Causes of Growing Damages

Insurance fraud is becoming increasingly organized and large-scale through SNS. Many of the recent organized insurance fraud cases committed by people in their 20s and 30s were conspired through internet cafes, blogs, or Telegram. When insurance fraud shifts from individuals to groups, the leakage of insurance payouts increases, and insurance premiums for the public rise accordingly.

According to data exclusively obtained by Asia Economy from the office of Representative Yoo Youngha of the People Power Party, insurance fraud involving brokers or three or more people increased by 3.3%, from 71.8 billion won in 2022 to 74.2 billion won in 2024. During the same period, life insurance fraud dropped by about half, from 18.5 billion won to 9.7 billion won, but non-life insurance fraud rose by 21%, from 53.3 billion won to 64.5 billion won. Among non-life insurance, long-term insurance fraud surged by 88.5%, from 12.2 billion won in 2022 to 23 billion won in 2024. Over the same period, auto insurance fraud increased by 10.1%, from 36.5 billion won to 40.2 billion won.

The sharp increase in insurance fraud involving three or more people in long-term insurance is closely related to the recent rise in large-scale fraud involving hospitals, brokers, insurance planners, and patients. Last year, five medical staff members, including the director and counseling manager of B Rehabilitation Hospital in Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, recruited 136 fake patients. The medical staff encouraged the patients to be hospitalized and designed treatment plans and prescriptions tailored to the insurance coverage limits. The patients received whitening and wrinkle-reduction procedures and submitted false medical records issued by doctors to the insurance companies to claim payouts. The insurance payouts they received amounted to 7.2 billion won.

Insurance Fraud Exploiting Specialized Knowledge... Difficult to Prevent Without Whistleblowers

Insurance fraud has become so sophisticated and specialized that it is almost impossible to avoid falling victim without expert knowledge in the field. New types of fraud are constantly emerging with ingenious methods, but fragmented investigation and enforcement personnel alone have difficulty uncovering them.

In February 2023, C General Insurance received a tip from the head of a glass coating company in Daejeon. The tip was about repair shops and rental car companies conspiring to inflate repair costs during the repair process of accident vehicles.

The fraud scheme was as follows: After vehicle D was brought to a repair shop for repairs, the shop offered the owner a free glass coating service and recommended using a rental car from a partner rental agency while the car was unavailable. The repair shop then arranged for glass coating company E, with whom it was acquainted, to issue a false certificate stating that vehicle D had previously received a glass coating.

Once the false certificate was issued, another glass coating company, F, claimed to perform glass coating on vehicle D, thereby extending the repair period. In reality, no glass coating was done. The scheme exploited the fact that glass coating is difficult to verify visually, so insurance payouts are generally made if a certificate is provided. The prolonged repair period led to increased labor and rental car costs, ultimately resulting in higher insurance payouts. The inflated insurance money was divided among the repair shop, rental car company, and glass coating companies.

When C General Insurance began its investigation, all the companies involved admitted their wrongdoing. A representative from C General Insurance stated, "Fortunately, we were able to recover the entire insurance payout thanks to the tip-off," adding, "There are many other fraudulent methods to subtly inflate repair costs, but it is difficult to detect them with the insurer's own personnel alone."

According to data obtained from C General Insurance, losses related to glass coating from 2020 to last year amounted to 55.42 billion won over five years. Of this, 30.14 billion won was for glass coating repair costs, and 25.28 billion won was for rental car expenses related to glass coating.

Editor's Note"They deceived, and my insurance premium went up." Damages from insurance fraud have exceeded 1 trillion won for three consecutive years, reaching an all-time high last year. Each false diagnosis, fake accident, and exaggerated treatment claim has accumulated to create the shocking figure of 1.1503 trillion won. The problem is that all these costs are ultimately passed on to honest policyholders in the form of higher insurance premiums. This publication has analyzed hundreds of court rulings and real-life cases to trace how the crime of "insurance fraud" operates. We have also explored technical responses and effective institutional improvements, seeking solutions to eradicate this crime.