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Story URL: http://www.silicon.com/research/specialreports/digitalblunders2/0,39024989,10003902,00.htm

Digital blunders: Fraudster's mobile bungling gives him away
How stupid can you get...

By Will Sturgeon

Published: Friday 25 April 2003

An insurance fraudster has been caught after accidentally admitting his crime to the very company he was trying to defraud, due a mix-up with his mobile phone.

The con-man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, made a claim for several stolen items of jewellery.

Tony Le Fevre, managing director of the Loss Management Group (LMG), which handles 35,000 jewellery claims per year, said: "We had a call from a man who described in great detail various items of jewellery that he said had been stolen.

"He told us that he'd lost seven items of jewellery, including two gold pocket watches, two gold chains and a gold watch, all bought by him from antiques markets."

However, the man soon discredited his claims when he put the mobile phone he has used to make the call back into his pocket.

As he began to brag to a colleague about the fraud he was carrying out, he was unaware that he had accidentally hit the redial button on his handset.

Staff at LMG were shocked as the man began to explain how he has never owned any of the items but rather was making claims against documents he'd found in a house clearance.

Le Fevre said: "Unfortunately for the individual concerned, we automatically record all calls for training and monitoring purposes so had the complete conversation on tape."

According to recent research by LMG, jewellery fraud now costs the insurance industry £70m a year, with as many as one in three jewellery claims having either fraudulent or inflated aspects.

What's your biggest mobile phone blunder? Email editorial@silicon.com.