Brokers should consider including in their disaster recovery plans some guidance about what to do if their brokerage brand name is targeted in a scam, Ontario’s broker regulator says.
The idea comes as Ontario’s insurance regulator posted a new scam alert involving an unlicensed brokerage, CC&B Group Inc., and an unlicensed broker, Serafattin Solak.
“It has come to the Financial Service Commission of Ontario [FSCO]’s attention that Mr. Solak (who also goes by the name, ‘George’) is soliciting insurance business through ads on Craigslist and is misrepresenting himself as an insurance broker,” FSCO said. “Consumers who responded to these Craigslist ads were directed to pay their premium in cash and provide additional payment by personal cheque to Mr. Solak.
“Consumers then received fake pink slips that listed CC&B Group Inc. and Jevco Insurance Company as their insurers.”
The CG & B Group Inc., a legitimate brokerage registered by the Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario (RIBO), has confirmed that it is not affiliated or associated with Solak or his insurance scam. Jevco Insurance, a legitimate insurance company, also had no involvement in the scheme.
Fraudsters will commonly use the name of a legitimate insurance brokerage, or a variant of it, to add authenticity to their schemes. And while it may be clear to all that the insurance brokerage is an innocent party targeted by fraudsters, there is still some risk to the brokerage’s brand reputation if the brokerage is associated in the public’s mind with a scam. (continued.)
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