YORKSHIRE, England, March 15 (UPI) -- British authorities, trying to crack down on bogus cell phone insurance theft claims, are offering amnesty for false claims.
South Yorkshire police have set up a free telephone number for people to report false cell phone thefts. Officials said the 160 false reports they received monthly cost $1.8 million per year to investigate, the BBC reported.
The bogus crime reports are used to make insurance claims to obtain new or upgraded cell phones.
"There are shop assistants who are on commission and out to make a fast buck," said Detective Superintendent Paul Broadbent. "They make a false report that they have been assaulted or robbed in order to get a crime number so they can make a claim on the insurance."
Broadbent said many people don't view filing a false insurance claim as a criminal offence.
