Welcome to our April newsletter! In this edition; The rising trend of identity theft of your car, the real benefits of using an insurance broker, why solicitors need to clamp down on fraudsters and how to keep you and your employees safe. 

Until next time, 

West Craven Insurance 

Whilst conventional wisdom dictates that the middle man offers little to the discussion and always has his price, in the complex world of insurance, perhaps things are not so simple. Our advice? Trust your broker, let them shop for you while you live an easy life! Contact us today for a quote or to discuss your situation to see how we can help. 

 

Vehicle cloning occurs where a number plate is stolen or replicated and used on an unconnected vehicle; it is likened to personal identity theft, but for vehicles. Increasing numbers of legitimate vehicle owners are reporting receiving fines they never incurred as a result of one of their vehicles being clones.

 

Previously, vehicles have been cloned to disguise the fact they are stolen, but more-commonly criminals are cloning number plates to avoid speeding fines and parking tickets. In some cases, vehicles are even used to commit more serious crimes, enabling them to drive on the roads under the radar of the police.

 

In order to clone a vehicle, the thief can either steal the number plate of the legitimate car, or more commonly, buy a number plate online. Ideally the thief is looking for a vehicle with same make and model to one which is insured and are turning to company vehicles where number plates can be sourced from the road or company premises.

 

In a bid to cut down on car cloning, the Government tightened up the laws on the sale of number plates in 2003 so that buyers have to provide proof of identity and ownership. But the rules apply only to UK suppliers and are easy to circumnavigate, particularly online where “show plates” can be brought which can be fitted to the vehicles.

 

For most victims of vehicle cloning, it’s a parking fine from somewhere they have never visited or a speeding ticket issued on a day the car was sitting in the garage that raises the alarm. For others, it can be more extreme with the police turning up at the doorstep, especially if the car has been used to commit a crime.

 

The consequences are severe. Motorists who unknowingly buy a stolen vehicle that has been given a false identity can lose both the car and their money. It’s therefore important to reduce the risk;

-          When purchasing a vehicle, always ask the seller for the registration number, make and model of the vehicle before you see it. These details can then be verified on the DVLA’s free, online vehicle enquiry service

-          When you view the vehicle, check the log book or V5C vehicle registration certificate. Make sure it has a ‘DVL’ watermark, and the serial number isn’t between BG8229501 to BG9999030, or BI2305501 to BI2800000. If it is, the V5C might be stolen.

-          Check that the details on the V5C match the details given to you by the owner.

-          Insist on viewing the vehicle at the address on the log book. Don’t meet in a car park or motorway service station.

-          Look for the vehicle’s identification number (VIN) and check that it corresponds with the details in the log book. The VIN can usually be found on a metal plate under the bonnet.

-          If the vehicle is on the market for less than 70% of its typical value, then the old rule “if a deal is too good to be true, it probably is” usually applies.

Despite so much being at stake, some firms are still unwilling to change processes or attitudes about fraud. There are many conscientious law firms that have already upgraded their anti-fraud risk controls, but recent notifications highlight that some are still not taking this issue seriously enough.

The solicitor community needs to manage fraud risk more effectively and responsibly and stop taking email and verbal instructions for funds transfer on little or blind faith. Principle 10 of the SRA's Code of Conduct mandates that you must protect your client money and assets.

Email, on its own, is not a reliable or secure communications method. Transferring funds to a bank account that is notified by email, especially if altered or advised at last-minute, without making any checks, is not protecting clients' money and is therefore a breach of Principle 10. Acting on instructions from so-called bank staff and revealing online banking user credentials and account information is also not protecting clients' information.

False email correspondence is often at the heart of fraudulent activity so here are some rules that should be followed by solicitors;

 

New Clients

- Explain the risk of fraud openly at the outset when relevant to the transaction / matter and obtain a commitment to cooperate.

- Obtain / exchange bank details at the outset of the transaction, and preferably face-to-face, except in unusual circumstances.

- Verify bank details provided against a cheque book, paying in book or statement.

- If there is a likelihood that changes may be needed, and attendance in person will be impractical, agree a code word for discussing financial transactions.

- Explain that changes will not be made to your firm's bank details and changes to clients' instructions for funds transfer will be treated suspiciously. Re-iterate to clients the process in which you follow to confirm their details and to ensure they are who they say they are.

- Update your client care letter/s, T&Cs, email footer and other relevant documents to reflect your revised fraud prevention processes.

 

Existing Clients

- Explain the above revised policies to existing clients (via a mass mailer (not email) or as and when correspondence is sent).

- Request that clients attend your offices to provide bank details or obtain them over the phone when you can be certain it is your client you are dealing with in the normal course of events.

- Obtain evidence in support where time permits (if you already have a bank statement obtained for client identity checks at the outset then this would service to verify bank details).

- On any transactions nearing completion where there is insufficient time to obtain bank details in the above ways, receipt of bank details for funds transfer must be validated with the client by phone. The call must be instigated by the firm using the details provided by the client at the outset. Unique and common knowledge, for instance about the matter or subjects involved can be used to further authenticate the client.

 

Staff Training

- Relevant staff must be trained on revised procedures and mandated to follow them without expansion.

 

Although as a business you have an obligation to buy employers liability insurance, ensuring your employees safety and that they remain healthy it just as important as having the right policy in place.

We look the key tasks to carry out and how employers can best take care of their employees. 

 

Complete a risk assessment

Before you can promote health and safety throughout the organisation, you first need to understand what the risks are. You need to identify all of the potential hazards and exactly who is at risk in all of the work your organisation carries out. Once you've completed this process, you then need to ensure that that the necessary controls are in place to protect those at risk.

 

Distribute a the health and safety document

Now that you’ve discovered all the potential hazards in your workplace it’s vital that your employees carry out the proper procedures you’ve put in place to reduce risk. The best way to do to this is produce a health and safety document that details all guidelines and the responsibility of each employee when carrying out their daily tasks. Once this document has been created, you need to distribute it to all of your employees.

Carry out consistent training

In addition to documenting the proper procedures, it just as important to carry out consistent training for the employees. This applies to both employees being inducted and those that just need a refresher and all training should be recorded as this may protect you against a claim.

Perform regular safety checks

Once your employees have received the training on to prevent accident and injury in the workplace, you should perform regular checks to ensure the proper procedures are being implemented. Check everything from making sure employees are wearing the appropriate attire to using equipment correctly. Although this may be a tedious process, it can reduce a lot of risk by reminding employees of rules and their responsibilities on a regular basis.

Keep records of each action

As stated earlier, it’s important to keep a record of the training the employees have received. One benefit of this is to keep track of any blind spots in certain employees knowledge of the company’s health and safety regulations or if they’re due for a refresher course. Another benefit is that the information recorded could be vital when to defending a claim along with preventing any incidents from reoccurring in the future. Evidence of training and actions taken towards preventing accidents and injury will be essential if the worst were to happen.