From isolated cases of fraud to criminal networks worth millions – the scale of insurance crime in Poland shows no sign of abating. In recent months, law enforcement agencies have carried out a series of high-profile operations that demonstrate both the ingenuity of the perpetrators and the growing capabilities of the authorities.
Insurance fraud in Poland takes many different forms, ranging from the actions of a single fraudster to elaborate criminal networks involving dozens, or even hundreds, of people. However, they all share a single aim: the unlawful extortion of compensation from insurance companies and providers. The latest cases handled by the Polish police and public prosecutor’s office provide a comprehensive overview of these practices, ranging from relatively simple schemes to complex operations requiring years of investigation.
The basic method – a staged car theft
One of the simplest fraud schemes involves staging a vehicle theft. Officers from the Głogów District Police Headquarters encountered such a case in the spring of 2026. In early April, they received a report of the theft of a passenger car worth 100,000 zlotys. The case was assigned to a specialised vehicle crime unit. A review of the evidence and subsequent investigative work quickly revealed that no theft had actually occurred. By the end of the month, officers had already gathered evidence confirming that the vehicle’s owner had himself planned and reported a false crime, solely to extort compensation. The 35-year-old was arrested and charged with making false statements, reporting a crime that had not been committed, attempted fraud and attempting to extort compensation. The case will now be dealt with by the court.
Staged collisions – a criminal business model
A far more sophisticated and lucrative scheme involves deliberately staged road collisions. The mechanism is usually similar: a specially trained participant, referred to by investigators as a “stuntman” or designated crash driver, deliberately causes a collision between vehicles. Immediately after the incident, the stuntman is replaced by a so-called “impostor” or “front man”, i.e. a person posing as the driver and the person responsible for the collision, who then reports the incident to the insurer and claims compensation.
This is precisely the modus operandi uncovered by officers from the Otwock District Police Headquarters, the Vehicle Crime Unit of the Warsaw Metropolitan Police Headquarters, and officers from the Nadbużański Border Guard Unit. The joint operation, carried out with the support of numerous units from across the country, targeted an organised criminal group involved in both vehicle theft (in Poland and other European Union countries) and insurance fraud. A total of 16 people were arrested. The group included a stuntman trained to cause collisions; once he had carried out his task, he was immediately replaced by a “stunt double” who posed as the person responsible for the accident and reported the damage to the insurer. The total value of the insurance fraud amounted to nearly 2 million zlotys. Fifteen people are currently in custody, charged with participation in an organised criminal group and multiple insurance frauds.
CBŚP breaks up a network in Kujawy – insurance company employees among the suspects
A particularly worrying aspect of insurance fraud has been uncovered by officers from the Central Bureau of Investigation, who, as part of an investigation supervised by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Bydgoszcz, have broken up an organised criminal group operating mainly in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship. The scheme involved deliberately causing road collisions, which were then used as a basis for obtaining undue compensation from insurance companies. The group’s activities were planned, systematic and designed to generate long-term financial gain.
As a result of a coordinated operation carried out in the second half of April and early May, 11 people forming the core of the group were arrested. Among them were not only the direct perpetrators of the criminal scheme, but also three employees of insurance companies. It was they who were alleged to have facilitated the scheme from within, presumably by making it easier to file false claims and process compensation payments. A person suspected of leading the entire group was also arrested. The District Court in Bydgoszcz remanded seven of those arrested in custody. The investigation is ongoing and further arrests cannot be ruled out.
Major case in Mazovia: 376 defendants, 20 million zlotys in losses
The most serious of the cases reported recently is undoubtedly the one being handled by the Economic Crime Division of the Provincial Police Headquarters based in Radom. After more than six years of investigation and the execution of 62 court-ordered operations, an indictment against an organised criminal group from the Mazovia region has been filed with the District Court in Siedlce. The losses inflicted on insurance companies exceeded 20 million zlotys.
The group’s modus operandi was meticulously planned. The collisions were caused by specially hired stuntmen, who, having carried out their task, left the scene before the police patrol arrived. Only the so-called “front man” remained at the scene – people posing as the drivers involved in the collision – who gave false statements and presented a false account of the incident. Luxury vehicles were used for the scams, often previously stolen on commission, modified and legalised, which allowed for exceptionally high compensation sums to be obtained – up to 300,000 zlotys per claim. The vehicles were fictitiously registered to people who were never their actual owners, and the compensation was paid into their bank accounts, from where it was then transferred to the organisers of the scheme.
The result of the long-running investigation is an impressive tally: several dozen stolen vehicles and several hundred stolen car parts were uncovered, car chop shops in the Mazovia region were shut down, and 23 vehicles with a total value of 2 million zlotys were seized from the suspects, which were subsequently sold at auction. A total of 376 people involved in nearly 240 staged road collisions were arrested and charged. During the investigation, 18 pre-trial detentions were ordered. To cover the costs of penalties and fines, the prosecutor issued orders for the seizure of assets totalling nearly 4.3 million zlotys.
The insurance industry in self-defence and collective action
The cases described above are merely a snapshot of a wider phenomenon. Insurance companies are becoming increasingly effective at detecting suspicious claims by using advanced analytical and systems, machine learning, and close cooperation with the Police, Border Guard and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The cases from Głogów, Bydgoszcz, Otwock and Radom show that this cooperation yields tangible results, ranging from the swift apprehension of small-scale fraudsters to long-term, comprehensive investigations dismantling extensive criminal networks.
A particular challenge for the industry remains the problem of internal staff colluding with perpetrators. As the Bydgoszcz case shows, individuals with inside knowledge of procedures can significantly facilitate the commission of fraud and hinder its detection. The solution here lies in a combination of watertight internal procedures, anomaly detection systems in claims settlement processes, and thorough vetting of staff with access to sensitive data.
Summary: criminals are becoming increasingly organised, law enforcement agencies increasingly effective
A review of the above cases of insurance fraud leads to several conclusions. Firstly, criminals are operating in an increasingly organised manner – hierarchical groups with clearly defined roles (organisers, stunt performers, front men, and sometimes even corrupt industry employees) make it much more difficult to detect and prove guilt. Secondly, the scale of the fraud can be enormous – as the Mazovia case shows, the long-term activities of a single group can result in losses running into tens of millions of zlotys. Thirdly, law enforcement agencies and the prosecution service are rising to the challenge. Investigations lasting many months, or even years, are yielding results: groups are being dismantled, indictments filed, and the criminals’ assets seized. The key to success lies in patient operational work, close cooperation between units (as in the case of the Otwock operation, which involved several units from across the country) and an ever-improving exchange of information between insurance companies and the police.
The fight against insurance fraud is a task for the entire ecosystem: insurers, law enforcement agencies, the judiciary and socially aware citizens who understand that tolerating petty fraud paves the way for serious organised crime. The cases described demonstrate that the system is capable of responding effectively and that those who attempt to defraud insurers can expect serious criminal consequences.