Insurance companies are very good at looking at the person associated with a claim or an underwriting variable but just as there are bad people, there are bad cars, and investigators need to know how to find them.

That was the message Chris Whipple, insurance representative for Red Mountain Technologies, delivered to attendees at the International Association of Special Investigation Units last week in a workshop entitled, "Discovering Compromised Vehicles and VINs." Along with his co-presenter Jamye Carpenter, also with Red Mountain Technologies, Whipple described a compromised vehicle (for instance, a flooded car), a compromised VIN (one that is cloned, counterfeited, or taken from salvage), and then explained what some of the different types of techniques and tools adjusters and investigators can use to discover them.

"Cars have been rebuilt or in some way compromised are on the road for fraudulent reasons," said Whipple during a pre-presentation interview. "We hope attendees get a further understanding of the different types of fraud associated with vehicles so they can better recognize it when it's presented to them. We also hope they have a better understanding of the databases available and how complete these reports have become."