A company is claiming that generative AI can now be used to effortlessly add ‘damage’ to everyday photos.

This raises the risk that absentee landlords reliant on images sent by tenants could be fooled. 

A new study by data firm SAS explains how AI can fabricate crash scenes, property damage and other evidence in seconds, reflecting the tactics fraudsters and organised crime groups are already using to deceive insurers.

It claims small manipulations or ‘vanilla synthetics’ are especially dangerous. 

They often pass unnoticed to the human eye and can be extremely difficult for investigators to uncover.

According to the Insurance Fraud Register, insurance fraud has now led to an average increase of £50 on annual premiums for consumer policies.

SAS says it has tested doctored images on the public, with results suggesting 40% of people cannot identify fakes.

A spokesperson says: “Fraudsters are exploiting generative AI tools to make fabricated damage and doctored scenes look entirely plausible. 

“With just a few prompts, they can create, enhance or erase visual evidence to support a false insurance claim.

“People should look for subtle inconsistencies – shadows that fall the wrong way, damage that doesn’t match the impact, blurred number plates, or backgrounds that appear too clean or empty. 

“These tiny visual mismatches are often the first red flags of an AI-generated claim.”

But the spokesperson says AI can work both ways, and says AI analyses of claims data can identify anomalies and patterns that humans cannot. 

Readers can see the full report here.