The old saying, "What you don't know can't hurt you" isn't something you'll find crocheted onto a pillow in the office of a special investigation unit. The people charged with uncovering fraud schemes for insurance carriers know information is the key to fighting fraud. The guy who stages phony collisions or the chiropractor who offers "free" examinations to accident victims (only to turn around and bill their insurance carriers) are the ones who like to operate quietly in the shadows.

"Borders don't mean a lot to crooks," said Joe Cohen, president of the International Association of Insurance Fraud Agencies (IAIFA) and director of the insurance fraud division of the Kentucky Department of Insurance. Once they've made their money in one city, state, or even country, they move on to the next, hoping that word doesn't reach their new destination until they've perpetrated another fraud on an unsuspecting community or insurer.

"I think the biggest problem today is a lack of technology," Cohen said. "It's difficult to keep track of people." There are more people fighting fraud than a decade ago, but the lack of a national or international database makes fraud investigation more difficult. While most fraud experts praise the Insurance Services Office (ISO) claims database as the largest of its kind, Cohen maintains that a separate fraud database is necessary. But there are enough hurdles in the path of such a project to make even the bravest steeplechase rider pull back on the reins.