A fraud that intercepted a policyholder through a fake phone number appearing in a Google search for her insurer’s claims line – resulting in her vehicle being taken and a $10,500 demand for its return – is the latest documented example of a fraud type that Australian insurers and state consumer regulators have been warning about throughout 2025.
Australian theatre actress Christine Whelan Browne went public this month after scammers impersonating AAMI intercepted her at the point of claim notification following a road collision. According to Nine, the entry point was a paid search advertisement that appeared when Browne searched online for AAMI’s claims contact number.
“As it now turns out, these scammers had put their phone number under AAMI claim support. I called this number and they were like, ‘Oh yeah, we'll bring you a replacement car within half an hour,’” Browne said in a social media video. A replacement vehicle arrived. Browne’s car was taken. When she subsequently contacted AAMI directly, the insurer confirmed it had not arranged any vehicle. On calling the original number again, the operators demanded $10,500 in alleged damage costs before they would return the car. “So, I’ve got this car that they gave me I’m driving around in, and they’ve got my car, and they won’t give it back,” Browne said.
AAMI said it is investigating and will support Browne in recovering the vehicle. “We are urgently investigating what has happened to Ms Whelan-Browne and will work with her to provide assistance, including legal support to help her get her car back. We encourage any of our customers who suspect they are a victim of a scam to contact us immediately,” an AAMI spokesperson said, as reported by Nine. AAMI said it is aware of third parties impersonating the brand, and that it works with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and Google to address misleading advertising.
The tactic Browne encountered is not new and is not isolated to one insurer. In February 2025, the Western Australian Government’s Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety issued a consumer protection warning after handling 11 cases in which crash victims were misled by online search results into contacting operators falsely claiming to represent their insurers. Victims were told their vehicles were unsafe and needed to be towed, with one receiving a towing invoice for $6,694.60 and another charged $4,500, which her insurer ultimately paid to secure the vehicle’s release.
“After a car accident, victims are often in emotional or physical distress, which can cloud their judgment and make them more susceptible to deceptive tactics,” said Trish Blake, Commissioner for Consumer Protection. Blake added that the best protection for consumers is to contact their insurer using only legitimate phone numbers found on official websites or previous official correspondence, such as a policy renewal notice.
IAG, whose brands include NRMA Insurance, CGU, and WFI, named paid search advertising and ad-spoofing explicitly in a November 2025 public warning as methods used to impersonate insurers at the point of claim. IAG’s analysis found claims costs can increase by up to 180% and repairs can take twice as long when a claims management company is involved, with industry data showing a 400% increase in claims involving credit hire companies between 2019 and 2022. IAG executive manager of counter-fraud and intelligence Anthony McGrath noted that some operators hold vehicles until payment is made and may enact legal action on a customer’s behalf without clear consent.
The vehicle-ransom element of the Browne case – a replacement offered, the original taken, a fee demanded for return – is consistent with this documented pattern and represents a direct claims cost risk for any insurer whose brand is intercepted through paid search.
Australians reported $2.18 billion in total scam losses in 2025, a 7.8% increase on 2024, according to the National Anti-Scam Centre’s (NASC) Targeting Scams report. ASIC coordinated the removal of 11,964 phishing and investment scam websites in 2025 – a 90% increase on the prior year – and has removed more than 25,000 such sites since launching its takedown service in 2023.
The paid search channel used in the Browne case is directly addressed in Australia’s incoming regulatory framework. Under the draft Scams Prevention Framework (SPF) sector codes released by Treasury in May 2026, the SPF is proposed to capture digital platforms’ paid search advertising services, alongside social media and instant messaging. Those obligations take full effect from March 31, 2027, backed by civil penalties of up to $50 million per contravention. Insurers are not among the initial sectors designated under the SPF – which currently covers banking, telecommunications, and digital platforms – though the framework’s legislation provides for future expansion to additional sectors.
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has noted that impersonation scams targeting insurance customers can intensify in the aftermath of a disaster, due to customers’ heightened vulnerability and desire to fast-track support on a claim. Both the Browne case and the WA Government cases confirm the same dynamic applies to routine motor claims year-round. In November 2025, the ICA announced a national fraud detection platform through the Insurance Crime Intelligence Network of Australia (ICINA) with motor insurance claims as the initial focus, enabling insurers to share fraud patterns and coordinate investigations into organised networks. That infrastructure addresses cross-insurer fraud detection; the search-based contact interception illustrated by the Browne case occurs upstream of it, before any claim is lodged.
For insurance professionals, the evidence points to a specific and addressable gap: ensuring policyholders have verified insurer contact details before they turn to a search engine. IAG has urged customers to always secure a claim number directly from their insurer before committing to any towing or replacement vehicle arrangements and to go directly through the insurer’s official website rather than relying on search results. Insurers that embed verified claims contact details in policy documents and renewal notices and actively monitor paid search advertising against their brand and claims keywords can reduce exposure to this fraud category ahead of any future SPF designation.
The matter involving Browne remains under investigation.
