It seems that everyone has long known about insurance scammers who “make” cosmic sums from car owners. And yet their “business” is thriving, all because, despite countless warnings, customers are still there. And especially now, when the issue of saving hard-earned money during the crisis – skyrocketing prices for anything and everything, general layoffs – is very acute.
What is a fake OSAGO policy? Many drivers mistakenly believe that the “left” document can only be a piece of paper printed on a simple printer. In fact, as representatives of the information project “Insurance: Public Expertise” explained to the AvtoVzglyad portal, a fictional “car citizen” sometimes looks very presentable: with watermarks and seals.
Fraudsters are also getting smarter and more inventive. Often, pretending to be agents, they draft a real policy from an insurance company and then make several hundred or even thousands of copies. Furthermore, they enter the data of the customer, who of course will not suspect anything. And he will sleep peacefully until he becomes the culprit of the accident or gets caught by a vigilant traffic cop who decided to “break” his “car citizen” through the base.
And this is far from the only scheme for “divorcing” gullible citizens.
So, quite recently, the capital’s law enforcement officers detained a criminal group that was thinking of selling fake OSAGO policies and posing as representatives of major insurance companies. Thanks to some technical means and “left” stamps, they were able to produce almost real documents that were distributed to drivers from Moscow, the Moscow region and the Yaroslavl region.
And how many scammers work on the internet! In the first nine months of last year alone, Kaspersky Lab experts identified 56 phishing pages with the word “osago” in their titles. But virtual scammers are much more dangerous. Not only do they immediately charge the cost of the “policy” to the accounts of the customers, they also fish out the payment card details, which comes with huge losses.
Phone fraud is also thriving: Scammers contact a potential customer using a disposable SIM card and, to confirm the security of the transaction, offer to arrange an incoming call from the hotline of a major insurance company (the number differs even by one number). As a result, the cheated driver receives a “policy” from the courier or even meets an “agent” at the office of the same insurance company – in the customer area, accessible to all visitors.
In general, there are really a lot of schemes used today. But in order not to fall into the bait of scammers, it is enough to follow a few simple rules. First, under no circumstances should you issue OSAGO policies, except in the offices of insurance companies (not in the customer area, but with employees), on their official websites or in mobile applications – again, official ones.
Secondly, after the purchase, you must “break through” the OSAGO policy on the portal of the Russian Union of Motor Insurers (RSA) or scan the QR code printed at the top of the document. True, it is important to remember that information about issued “autocitizens” does not enter the database immediately – sometimes it takes a few days. And so, if you haven’t found your policy on the PCA website, don’t sound the alarm right away – wait a minute.
Third, make it a rule to carefully check all the information entered in the “autocitizen”: both from the owner and the drivers who are allowed to drive the car, and from the vehicle itself. An agent can make a mistake – and not intentionally, but through inattention. But even in this case, you risk “getting” a lot of money by accidentally causing an accident.
We also remember that today the fine for driving without an OSAGO policy (or with a “left” document, which is essentially the same) is 800 rubles according to Art. 12.37 pm 2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
It seems that everyone has long known about insurance scammers who “make” cosmic sums from car owners. And yet their “business” is thriving, all because, despite countless warnings, customers are still there. And especially now, when the issue of saving hard-earned money during the crisis – skyrocketing prices for anything and everything, general layoffs – is very acute.
What is a fake OSAGO policy? Many drivers mistakenly believe that the “left” document can only be a piece of paper printed on a simple printer. In fact, as representatives of the information project “Insurance: Public Expertise” explained to the AvtoVzglyad portal, a fictional “car citizen” sometimes looks very presentable: with watermarks and seals.
Fraudsters are also getting smarter and more inventive. Often, pretending to be agents, they draft a real policy from an insurance company and then make several hundred or even thousands of copies. Furthermore, they enter the data of the customer, who of course will not suspect anything. And he will sleep peacefully until he becomes the culprit of the accident or gets caught by a vigilant traffic cop who decided to “break” his “car citizen” through the base.
And this is far from the only scheme for “divorcing” gullible citizens.
So, quite recently, the capital’s law enforcement officers detained a criminal group that was thinking of selling fake OSAGO policies and posing as representatives of major insurance companies. Thanks to some technical means and “left” stamps, they were able to produce almost real documents that were distributed to drivers from Moscow, the Moscow region and the Yaroslavl region.
And how many scammers work on the internet! In the first nine months of last year alone, Kaspersky Lab experts identified 56 phishing pages with the word “osago” in their titles. But virtual scammers are much more dangerous. Not only do they immediately charge the cost of the “policy” to the accounts of the customers, they also fish out the payment card details, which comes with huge losses.
Phone fraud is also thriving: Scammers contact a potential customer using a disposable SIM card and, to confirm the security of the transaction, offer to arrange an incoming call from the hotline of a major insurance company (the number differs even by one number). As a result, the cheated driver receives a “policy” from the courier or even meets an “agent” at the office of the same insurance company – in the customer area, accessible to all visitors.
In general, there are really a lot of schemes used today. But in order not to fall into the bait of scammers, it is enough to follow a few simple rules. First, under no circumstances should you issue OSAGO policies, except in the offices of insurance companies (not in the customer area, but with employees), on their official websites or in mobile applications – again, official ones.
Secondly, after the purchase, you must “break through” the OSAGO policy on the portal of the Russian Union of Motor Insurers (RSA) or scan the QR code printed at the top of the document. True, it is important to remember that information about issued “autocitizens” does not enter the database immediately – sometimes it takes a few days. And so, if you haven’t found your policy on the PCA website, don’t sound the alarm right away – wait a minute.
Third, make it a rule to carefully check all the information entered in the “autocitizen”: both from the owner and the drivers who are allowed to drive the car, and from the vehicle itself. An agent can make a mistake – and not intentionally, but through inattention. But even in this case, you risk “getting” a lot of money by accidentally causing an accident.
We also remember that today the fine for driving without an OSAGO policy (or with a “left” document, which is essentially the same) is 800 rubles according to Art. 12.37 pm 2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
Source: Avto Vzglyad
I’m Sandra Torres, a passionate journalist and content creator. My specialty lies in covering the latest gadgets, trends and tech news for Div Bracket. With over 5 years of experience as a professional writer, I have built up an impressive portfolio of published works that showcase my expertise in this field.