Ghostbusters: How investigators used data to catch a ‘ghost’

A ‘Ghost’ wreaked havoc in South Africa’s insurance industry for eight years by hitting different insurers with fraudulent claims worth over R2 million. Ghost was the codename used by The Insurance Crime Bureau in their investigation into this fraudster, who mostly abused fast track and vehicle insurance claims.

However, thanks to the Insurance Data System (IDS) – an information-sharing platform – investigators were able to detect Ghost’s network of fraudulent claims through industry data and track him down. He is facing an ongoing criminal case following his arrest in March 2015.

IDS was created by risk and information solution provider TransUnion, under the guidance of the South African Insurance Association (SAIA).

“Fraudsters such as Ghost often act over time and across multiple channels and insurers, which makes their scheme so complex that it often can’t be detected by a single insurance company,” said Robin Wagner, Vice President of International Insurance at TransUnion.

“When data shared by a group of insurers is centralised on IDS, however, there is a greater likelihood of being able to detect these patterns and use this information in subsequent criminal investigations.”

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