Case Study

See how Sedgwick’s special investigations unit stopped a fast-moving storage unit scam and protected a national provider from major losses.

Challenge: Spotting the red flags of a storage unit scam

A Sedgwick examiner spotted an unusual pattern: In just 30 days, there were 27 property damage claims filled for Texas self-storage units, all using identical photos and similar documents. The scheme put our client — a national self-storage provider — at risk for $128,000 in losses, with $10,000 already paid before our major case investigations team stepped in.

Solution: Uncovering a national scheme

Our team launched a comprehensive fraud investigation. Using link analysis, we discovered that all 27 claims could be traced to two or three individuals using fake identities. After reviewing all the client’s claims nationwide, we uncovered similar schemes at storage facilities in North Carolina, Georgia and Florida — each linked to two or three fraudsters.

Our investigation included:

• Link analysis to identify common data points across claims (addresses, phone numbers, emails)
• Emerging trend analysis to flag all related claims in the ring
• Digital forensics to trace images back to Reddit and other websites
• Cluster recognition to detect new claims matching the pattern

Results: Shutting down a multistate fraud ring

We uncovered and stopped a multistate fraud ring, delivering immediate impact for our client. In Texas, we denied $58,000 in fraudulent claims and initiated restitution efforts for the $10,000 already paid. Our expanded review mitigated additional exposures in three other states and sparked a multistate criminal investigation.

Client

National self-storage provider

Situation

27 fraudulent claims filed in Texas within 30 days — $128K immediate exposure with millions in potential losses if unchecked

Outcome

Multistate fraud ring dismantled, $58K in fraudulent claims denied additional losses prevented in three states

Protect your business from fraud, waste and abuse. See how Sedgwick can help here.