Fraud Support

Tempcover is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority No: 746985. Registered in England, Company NoL 9923259. Our website can be found at www.tempcover.com and we will refer to our company as Tempcover or Tempcover.com. All other naming conventions (e.g. Tempcover Now) are not legitimate.

If you suspect anything suspicious, please email [email protected] or report the activity to https://www.actionfraud.police.uk.

The below organisations are able to offer help and support if you feel you've been the victim of a fraud attempt.

Action Fraud – The UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. All reports are passed on to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau which is run by the police. Call 0300 123 2040 or visit https://www.actionfraud.police.uk for practical advice and more information.

CIFAS Protective Registration - CIFAS offers protection against identity theft for those who may be at risk. You are considered at risk if your personal documents have recently been lost or stolen, you're the customer of an organisation that has lost or leaked data or you've been advised by the police you're potentially the victim of identity theft.

Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) - You can report someone who you think may be committing insurance fraud via the IFB's 'Cheatline'. Call 0800 422 0421 or visit www.insurancefraudbureau.org in the strictest confidence. All information submitted is reviewed and analysed. Where appropriate, the IFB will issue alerts to insurance industry members, regulators and law enforcement agencies.

Tempcover applies multiple systems to identify organised car insurance fraud and prevent quotes being obtained through our website.

Tempcover works in collaboration with our Insurance Providers to identify, locate and stop fraudulent activity. We support all cross-industry anti-fraud work and work closely with various Industry organisations to create a tougher environment for fraudsters.

If you believe you have been a victim of fraud, please email Tempcover at [email protected].

Your identity can be stolen in a number of ways including:

Fake websites: These will ask for ‘confirmation' of your security details, or prompt you to enter personal information. When you supply your details, they are fed back to a criminal to use fraudulently.

Phishing: Phishing is the use of authentic-looking but fake emails, often claiming to be from trustworthy organisations, such as banks or tax authorities, e.g. HMRC. It is a form of social engineering, designed to convince you to respond and reveal sensitive information.

While the emails may look genuine, their purpose is usually to convince you to click on a link through to a fake website, which also looks convincingly like the real thing. Some phishing emails contain attachments which may contain data-stealing viruses.

Once you've opened or downloaded these attachments, it can unleash malicious software (or malware) onto your system, causing damage or capturing information to send back to the person behind the attack.

Other: Identify theft can also happen through phone calls, texts, tweets or other communication methods as well as more traditional methods of raiding dustbins or stealing your mail.

The following tips can help keep your data safe and secure:

• Shredding all letters, envelopes and receipts before putting them in the bin
• If you fail to receive documents you were expecting, such as insurance documents, bank cards or applications for services, contact the Royal Mail and get this investigated.
• Check your bank and credit card statements regularly looking for all payments you don't recognise, of any value.
• If you move home, arrange for your post to be redirected to your new home so your mail isn't opened by someone else.
• Check your credit report regularly to identify any unexpected checks.

Ghost Brokers, also known as Illegal Insurance Intermediaries, are people or organisations who sell policies which are not worth the money they are written on. This fraud can work in a number of ways, including:

• Providing false documents to a customer but not purchasing a real insurance policy
• Buying a policy from a legitimate company but using false information to reduce the price and paying with a stolen credit card

Potential outcomes from using a Ghost Broker include:

• Your policy may be cancelled by the provider with no cover deemed to have been in effect
• Your car may be stopped by the police resulting in a non-insurance conviction, the car being impounded and potentially even crushed by the authorities
• You will have to buy a new policy with very little chance of getting a refund from the first policy from the Ghost Broker
• You may be liable for any injuries or damage caused in an accident while the original insurance policy was in force

If you believe you have been targeted by a Ghost Broker pretending to be Tempcover, you can contact us on [email protected] with the following information:

• Which website or social media you purchased the policy from
• The name and contact details of the person you purchased the policy from
• Screenshots of any documents or messages relating to your policy
• Information of any bank account you may have sent money to

This will be shared with Tempcover's fraud team who will investigate, and where possible, work with industry organisations to identify and investigate the fraudster.

Do not buy a policy from an unusual source such as Instagram, Twitter, TikTok or even in person.

Use a recognised, FCA-registered insurer such at Tempcover.com or aggregator, such as Confused.com.

Read your documents carefully when you receive them to ensure they are accurate.

Driving on a fake or invalid policy is treated the same as driving without insurance in UK law, regardless of whether you knew the policy was fraudulent.

Possible penalties include

• An unlimited fine
• Six to eight penalty points (or a fixed penalty of £300)
• Your vehicle being seized and potentially crushed
• A driving disqualification
• A criminal record in serious cases
• Full personal liability for any damage or injury caused in an accident

You should verify your insurance before driving.

There are several ways to verify a temporary insurance policy is genuine.

Check the broker or insurer is on the FCA register by entering their name or number (Tempcover's FCA number is 746985) at register.fca.org.uk If they're not listed as authorised, don't buy from them.

Look for a legitimate website with a verifiable phone number and registered UK address, and cross-check against the FCA register.

Never buy through social media or messaging apps. Legitimate insurers don't sell policies via DMs on Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, or Snapchat.

After purchase, check askMID.com although be aware due to the short-term nature of temporary insurance, sometimes your policy will not appear immediately.

Be suspicious of unusually low prices. If a quote is significantly cheaper than comparison sites or other insurers, details may have been falsified or the policy may be fake.

The simplest way is to check the Motor Insurance Database using the free tool at askMID.com.

Enter your vehicle registration number and it will confirm whether a current, valid policy is in place.

You need to allow up to 24 to 48 hours for a new policy to appear, so temporary policies may not always show up on here before your journey. You should check the evening before you plan to drive.

You should also check your email inbox for a policy confirmation from a verified @tempcover.com address and review the policy documents. They should include:

• Your name
• Vehicle registration
• Policy number
• Cover dates
• The name of the underwriting insurer

If anything looks incorrect, contact our Customer Experience team via our Contact Us page.

Tempcover's policy documents are sent to your email instantly after purchase and cover begins from the start time you have selected.

Yes, buying temporary insurance online is safe as long as you buy through a recognised, FCA-authorised website or aggregator.

It is not safe to buy through social media profiles, DMs, or posts (even if they appear professional) or through WhatsApp, Snapchat, Telegram, or other messaging apps.

Tempcover only sells through www.tempcover.com and our app. We are FCA-regulated (No. 746985), and will send all policy documents directly to your email. All payments are processed securely through our website, never through a personal bank transfer.

Stop driving immediately if you think your policy may be fake. You will be uninsured and committing a criminal offence by driving.

After stopping (or before starting the car) you can report your suspicions to to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040.

You can also report to the Insurance Fraud Bureau via their confidential Cheatline at insurancefraudbureau.org or 0800 422 0421.

If you believe the the fraudster is impersonating Tempcover, you can email [email protected] with screenshots of documents, messages, and payment details so we can investigate.

Fraudsters have been known to impersonate well-known insurance providers including Tempcover.

The only genuine Tempcover website is www.tempcover.com. Any other domain or naming convention is not legitimate.

Genuine Tempcover policies are only sold through our website and app, and not through social media DMs, WhatsApp messages, or in-person transactions.

All policy documents come from a verified @tempcover.com email address. If you receive documents from Gmail, Hotmail, or personal addresses, take extra care.

All payments are taken through our secure online checkout. Please note Tempcover will never ask you to pay via bank transfer to a personal account.

If you suspect someone is fraudulently impersonating us, email [email protected] with the details.

To confirm Tempcover's registered details, search FCA Firm Reference 746985 at register.fca.org.uk.