Sponsored content: Kevin Perkins, head of legal defence at law firm Carpenters Group, discusses how the increasingly digital nature of the insurance industry is opening insurers to a more global fraud threat
The modern fraudster is no longer restricted by national boundaries – they can target victims in any country, from anywhere in the world. Insurance fraud has moved beyond being a purely domestic issue, with criminal organisations now establishing ‘fraud factories’ that attack insurers and policyholders globally.
These groups exploit the digital nature of today’s insurance industry, employing advanced technology and leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to facilitate large scale financial crime.
Fraudulent networks can generate fake identities, take out insurance policies in countries where they have no physical presence and manipulate evidence – such as images of vehicle collisions or property damage – using deepfake technology.
This environment creates a complex, cross-border challenge for insurers. These organisations are now facing scams that are not only higher in volume, but that are also more sophisticated and harder to detect.
As digital insurance processes make it easier for criminals to operate internationally, insurers find themselves increasingly exposed to resultant ripple effects arising from fraud – an uptick in fraudulent claims, for example, drives up costs, causes more claims leakage and exerts ongoing pressure on profit margins.
International connections
In response to a more online fraud threat, law enforcement agencies are moving towards greater international collaboration.
The latest Fraud Charter meeting – hosted by Insurance Times in March 2026 – highlighted this shift, providing updates on how organisations are abandoning isolated, national anti-fraud efforts in favour of coordinated global action.
Initiatives such as The International Criminal Police Organisation’s (Interpol) Operation Shadow Storm, funded by the UK’s Home Office, represent a new approach of targeting scam centres and financial fraud with a dedicated international task force.
Fraud no longer stops at country borders – and neither does the risk to insurers.
Organised criminal groups are industrialising fraud on a global scale, exploiting digital insurance models to run increasingly sophisticated scams. While international cooperation is gaining ground, insurers must remain vigilant as this threat continues to evolve.
