Texas officials see rise in auto insurance fraud

Police officers in Texas say they are encountering more cases of potential auto insurance fraud in the current recession.

Some kinds of insurance fraud include insuring cars with prior damage, falsely reporting a car as stolen or intentionally damaging a vehicle and claiming hail damage.

Police officers said they are on the lookout for these types of fraud, as are insurance claims investigators. Insurance companies have fraud units that inspect suspicious claims.

Sergeant Alfredo Grimaldo of the Midland, Texas Police Department has said the police could also charge against fraudsters for filing false reports, which can be a felony.

The price to pay is too high, officers said. Both law enforcement and insurance companies can be counted on to crack down on car insurance fraud.

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