Hit and Run — In this case, the perpetrator uses a damaged vehicle and claims to be a victim of a hit and run or an animal collision. Police are often called to the scene to verify the damage.

 Paper Accidents — As the name suggests, paper accidents occur only on paper. An owner fabricates an accident report to collect insurance money from for a vehicle with preexisting damage.

Medical Mills — A medical mill consists of medical professionals - at times working with legal professional and recruiters - who rip off patients and insurance companies through unethical and fraudulent billing practices.

Typical fraud-related injuries involve soft-tissue sprains and strains like backaches, whiplash and headaches. Injuries are often subjective and difficult to verify. Medical patients rarely spend any time in the hospital.

The Criminals

 Unscrupulous Medical Providers — Dishonest medical providers often inflate bills or give unnecessary treatment in an attempt to collect extensive insurance reimbursements. Participants often include chiropractors, physicians, pharmacists and their office managers.

 Unscrupulous Legal Providers — Dishonest attorneys purposely funnel patients to corrupt doctors or knowingly represent accident victims who are filing padded claims. Participants often include personal injury attorneys, legal clerks and law office managers.

 Cappers or Runners — Third party middlemen who recruit insurance fraud perpetrators and befriend legitimate accident victims for medical mills.

 Insurance Fraud Perpetrators — Pseudo patients who often fake or exaggerate injuries before visiting a medical mill.

Types of Medical Mills

 Fraudulent Physician — In this rare type of medical mill, everything from the doctor to the bills to the office itself is a fraud. Since patients with bogus injuries are often recruited, these offices contain little or no medical supplies and actual treatment is rarely prescribed.

 Double-Dipping Doctor — This type of medical mill does provide medical services, though the methods of treatment are often questionable, excessive or redundant. Patients are occasionally overcharged for services or, in some extreme cases, billed for services never rendered.

 Creative Accountants — The most common type of provider fraud often goes unnoticed by the patient. The health care provider often provides quality treatment and service; however, on occasion the bills are purposely inflated.

Bodily Injury Insurance Fraud — Bodily injury fraud occurs when someone purposely fakes or exaggerates an injury to collect insurance benefits.

Common Bodily Injury Schemes

 Slip and Fall — Slip and fall scams are among the most widely practiced types of insurance fraud. The claimant or his/her attorney threatens litigation against a person, organization or business from a bogus injury sustained when the victim fell on the innocent party's property. Ultimately, the innocent party's insurance company pays for the bogus accident.

 The Fake Break — Some con artists will take advantage of a new or existing injury to make a bogus claim.

 The Yank Down — Perpetrators purposely pull display items or store merchandise on top of themselves and then file an injury claim resulting from the "fallen object."

 The Big Trip — Here the perpetrator takes advantage of a broken or obstructed sidewalk or stairway to make a bogus claim.