Hong Kong Federation of Insurers chief Selina Lau said the industry will keep its eyes open for fraudulent claims after the authorities sounded the alarm over a new type of "cash for crash" scam.

Security Secretary Chris Tang on Sunday warned that rather than traditional staged crashes, criminals are now filing reports saying they were injured even when no prang whatsoever took place.

Dashcam footage of cars crossing double white lines is used to back up such fraudulent claims, with con artists falsely alleging the other party's driving infraction caused them to brake suddenly and left them with neck injuries.

On RTHK’s Backchat programme on Thursday, Lau said claims can come in years after accidents are alleged to have occurred and evidence either way can be hard to come by.

She emphasised that in such cases, investigations can only rely on medical reports, which are sometimes dubious.

“We’ll look for red flags like prolonged sick leaves due to very minor accidents,” she said, adding that the Insurance Fraud Prevention Claims Database will also be used to look across the industry when reviewing possible fraud cases, for example to identify frequent claimants.

Lau also advised car owners to notify their insurance company if they receive a summons for a traffic offence from the police or a third-party claim, and save any car camera footage to protect themselves.

Barrister Eric Curlewis told the same programme that there should be extra scrutiny of any law firms or doctors found to be repeatedly linked to suspicious insurance claims.