NYACT Hosts Joint Conference for Law Enforcement and Special Investigators on COVID Fraud and Scams

New York is Experiencing Significant Uptick in COVID Fraud and Scams According to Presentations at Annual Summer Conference

NYACT

The New York Anti Car Theft and Fraud Association, New York's association founded to provide training for insurance and law enforcement personnel to combat vehicle crime and insurance fraud, and the New York State Chapter of Special Investigation Units joined forces to present their Annual Joint Summer Conference on July 14.

NYACT Board of Directors' Chair, Nichole Soriano, Regional Director of Travelers Insurance Company, stated, "It is becoming obvious that America's largest claims crisis is approaching, and the anti-fraud community needs to plan and train to handle the surge. NYACT and NYSSIU join forces every year for several joint trainings, but this year, due to the potential surge of fraudulent claims and COVID scams, it is more important than ever that we provide law enforcement and our insurance members the training and state-of-the-art methods to combat the new ways fraudsters are cheating the American public."

Training topics included current state of the legislative environment post-COVID-19 and auto fraud trends including tow truck and rental fraud.

It is likely that New York will be one of the nation's hot spots for scams. The annual summer conference goal is to provide current training practices and networking opportunities to state and national law enforcement personnel and insurance industry representatives that focus on fraud investigations.

According to the Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Sentinel Network, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, fraud reports have increased by more than 30%, ultimately costing Americans more than $2.3 billion dollars in 2020.  Fraud is a broad type of crime, but scams usually fall into one of several categories. There has been an increase found in almost every category, however, job opportunity, identity theft and credit bureau scams are the fastest-growing types of fraud.

Due to continued health concerns, this annual event was held virtually for over 200 investigators and insurance personnel attendees. Speakers included, John Hubert, FCLS, CIFI & AIC, SIU Major Case Manager, Nationwide Insurance; Timothy W. Tapply, Esq., Partner, Brand & Tapply, LLC;  Tom McCourt, Special Agent, NICB North East Region; Roy A. Mura, Esq., Mura Law Group; and Joanne F. Dagostino, Director-SIU, QA & Compliance, Plymouth Rock Management Company.

Media Contact:  Abby Curro, office@nyact.org  518-694-8470

Source: New York Anti Car Theft and Fraud Association