A former RSA employee has been sentenced to 28 months in prison for selling stolen customer data to claims management firms.
Karl Yates (pictured), aged 40, used his position within RSA to access confidential information related to non-fault road traffic claims over a year-long period. This breach led to cold-calling companies pressuring drivers into making personal injury and damage claims.
Detective Sergeant Matt Hussey from the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) said Yates made use of his mobile phone to take pictures of customer records, gathering enough data to make fraudulent calls seem legitimate.
“Yates’ actions could have seriously harmed RSA’s reputation,” said Hussey. “As well as being distressing for customers, the cold calls could have caused members of the public to unintentionally submit fraudulent claims across the insurance industry.”
Yates, who was found guilty of fraud by abuse of position and computer misuse in November, received his 28-month sentence on December 11 at Liverpool Crown Court.
RSA discovered the theft following controls identifying issues and customer complaints. The case was referred to the IFED in September 2020, leading to the fraudster’s subsequent arrest. More than 100 images of typed pages with customer information were found on his phone.
“Unfortunately for Yates, his plan backfired, and we found clear evidence of his scheme when we arrested him,” said Hussey. “We hope this sends a clear message to anyone thinking of doing something similar – not only will you lose your job, you could face a prison sentence, too.”
Adele Sumner, head of counter fraud & financial crime at RSA, commented on how the insurer’s robust anti-fraud measures helped shed light on the scheme.
“We have strong fraud detection and prevention and data security controls at RSA,” said Sumner. “Where we identify any potential wrongdoing, we’ll investigate and take strong action against those responsible – as demonstrated here – to prosecute and ensure they’re brought to justice.
“RSA was the victim of a crime committed by an employee in this instance, and we took swift action to protect our customers. We’re pleased with the outcome of the investigation and [the] judgement and sentencing.”
In late September, a different insurance fraudster who had served jail time was ordered to pay back a sum of £210,000. Under the confiscation order, failure to pay within a specified period will result in further time in prison.
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