Aussie's terrifying insurance scam after car is held at ransom for $10,500

Published: 02:12, 14 July 2026 | Updated: 02:12, 14 July 2026 An actress has shared her horror after her car was held at ransom for $10,500 in a terrifying insurance scam. Melbourne woman Christie Whelan-Browne explained that she had been involved in an accident after another vehicle backed into her car. She said she called AAMI through a number she had found online, having no idea that it was a fake number used by scammers.  'I put in a claim with my insurance company and went to call them to follow up on it, but as it now turns out, these scammers had put their phone number under AAMI Claim Support,' she said in a video posted to social media.   'I called this number and they were like, "Oh yeah, we'll bring you a replacement car within half an hour", and before I knew it, someone had come and given me a car and taken my car.'  When the theatre actress called AAMI again, she said the insurer told her they knew nothing about the replacement vehicle.  'They're like, "What do you mean? We never organised this",' Ms Whelan-Browne said.  She then called the number she originally thought belonged to AAMI and claimed she was told to pay $10,500 to get her vehicle back.  A Melbourne driver has claimed she was facing a demand for more than $10,000 after calling what she thought was AAMI Insurance the day after her car was rammed into 'I get on to the people who've taken my car and they're like, "It was $10,500 worth of damage and if you want the car back, you'll have to pay that",' she said.  'I've now got this car that I'm driving around in and they've got my car and won't give it back.' According to AAMI's advice on hire car scams, third-parties can pose as insurers in online search results and become involved in the claims process. It also said that similar incidents had occurred in the past.  'Motorists have been misled into thinking they’re dealing with a reputable insurer, and are asked to sign an "Authority to Act" or Car Hire Rental Agreement on a tablet,' it said on its website.  'They’re told repairs will be taken care of, and are given a “free” replacement vehicle. 'Their damaged vehicle is then taken away and the motorist is left with no idea where it’s going, or how long repairs may take. 'Motorists may find themselves having to cover those extra costs out of their own pocket, often at inflated rates.' Christie Whelan-Browne called the number she originally thought belonged to the company and claimed she was told to pay $10,500 to get her vehicle back To avoid being tricked into dealing with scammers, AAMI urged motorists to 'be vigilant'.       'Check your policy documents for claims contact details, call your insurer directly and verify who you are speaking to when lodging a claim or when contacted after an accident.  'Make sure you are speaking to the insurer and ask for your policy number or a claim number. 'If you inadvertently use one of these operators, they may send a representative to your address, so don’t sign any documents, including a hire car contract on an electronic device like a tablet.  'Signatures have been duplicated by scammers and used on many unrelated documents, so make sure you get complete copies of all documents you sign.' It also urged motorists to contact their insurer immediately if misled.  Daily Mail contacted AAMI and Ms Whelan-Browne for comment.   Many Aussies said they had been scammed in similar ways.  According to AAMI's advice on hire car scams, third-parties can pose as insurers in online search results and become involved in the claims process 'This sort of happened to me, day after the accident I called my insurer to clarify and they were like, “We don’t have your car”,' one said.  'Similar to you, I googled my insurer straight after the accident and in my adrenaline state, I called the first result.' 'Once I went to call Energy Australia and the same thing happened with the search result being a scam company, have to be so careful these days,' a second said. 'Something similar happened to me with this company and it was so stressful,' a third said. 'They called me to initiate repairs, so I thought it was the other person's insurance.'