How to Protect Your Business from Fraudulent Health Insurance Lead Vendors

Leads are critical for insurance agents. They’re how you grow your business after all.

So when there are dozens of health insurance lead vendors posing as legitimate and compliant on social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp), it can be difficult to cut through the noise.

We are writing to alert you to a critical issue concerning fraudulent and unlawful practices by certain offshore lead vendors, particularly those operating on social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

This communication aims to inform you of the risks associated with these vendors – both static data and live transfers – and emphasize the importance of using compliant, verified lead sources to protect your business and ensure adherence to legal and ethical standards.

The Risks of Using Fraudulent/Non-Vetted Lead Vendors

These vendors sell false leads or distribute personal information obtained without consent. They also often offer leads that are either entirely fraudulent or obtained through practices that violate applicable laws. This has included such scams as impersonating a consumer on a telephone call, without the knowledge of the agent or the consumer.

Any agent found to be using such vendors may be in violation of their obligations to us and the carriers and may be subject to immediate termination. Additionally, the use of these leads may expose you to monetary fines and legal liability to consumers, depending on how the lead was sourced and used.

Possible Financial Risks

Fraudulent lead vendors might as well be sneaking money out of your wallet if you choose to use them. By selecting one of these providers, you could be paying for leads that never convert — or worse, future fines!

When false leads come through, they’re often auto-filled forms by bots that get funneled to you through problematic lead vendors. Don’t waste time and money on leads that will get you nowhere.

By selecting a fraudulent lead vendor, you could be paying for leads that never convert.

By pursuing other avenues for leads rather than working those already in your sales funnel, you’re taking time away from your legitimate existing clients or true leads that are further down the funnel. Every hour you’ve spent gathering false leads is wasted productivity and potential future sales. These lost sales could mean lower commissions over the year!

You also don’t want to expose your business to potential fines if the lead vendor did not gain the proper consent or the lead felt misinformed and deceived. You’ll be left responsible for their inability to obtain proper documentation. We don’t recommend taking this risk.

Possible Operational Risks

Besides wasting time following up on leads that never convert, poor lead vendors can leave you in the hot seat of customer care.

Clients who don’t consent to be contacted aren’t going to be happy with you and your business if you choose to contact them when they didn’t consent. Low quality lead vendors may not take the time to collect consumer authorization and consent for communication.

If you reach out to individuals who never consented to be contacted, you not only risk legal challenges, but also risk damaging your brand’s reputation. Word of mouth and negative online reviews could mean clients attribute your business with spam. A dampened reputation could mean you have to spend more time improving goodwill with your community. Public relations affairs take time away from your clients.

Additionally, agents found to be using fraudulent lead vendors may be in violation of their terms of agreements with carriers, agency, field marketing organization (FMO), or another supervisory committee. These agents may be subject to immediate termination.

Possible Legal and Compliance Risks

Taking on a fraudulent or non-vetted lead vendor could create drastic damage to your business because of legal and compliance risks.

Many non-vetted vendors do not take additional steps to obtain consent from consumers to collect or sell their personal information. If you contact these individuals, you are at risk of a privacy violation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and other applicable privacy laws.

A single TCPA violation can result in significant fines that can range from $500 to $1,500. Additional occurrences could mean additional violations that could lead to termination.

A single TCPA violation can result in significant fines that can range from $500 to $1,500.

A security breach could result in a data leak if vendors don’t take precautions to safeguard client information. Exposing sensitive client information could leave you partially responsible for the breach. Fines, legal action, and damaged brand reputation are likely to come after.

How to Recognize a Fraudulent/Non-Compliant Lead Vendor

The recent uptick in fraudulent lead vendors has come from social media platforms. If you see ads or receive messages from lead vendors on apps such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, be cautious. These vendors may sell false leads or distribute personal information obtained without consent.

Leads offered through these sources can be entirely fraudulent or violate applicable privacy laws. This has included such scams as impersonating a consumer on a telephone call, without the knowledge of the agent or the consumer.

We suggest avoiding doing business with any lead vendors that:

Solicits payment via wire transfer or other untraceable methods.

Primarily operates overseas and may not have a reputable company website or accreditation.

Operates or markets their lead services primarily through social media or messaging apps.

Cannot provide verifiable proof of consent from the individuals whose data they are selling.

Although the market may appear to be full of fraudulent or non-vetted lead vendors, there are safe and compliant options out there to protect your business.

Qualities of Reputable Health Insurance Lead Vendors

Struggling to recognize a reputable lead vendor from the dozens of false platforms? Look for these qualities in a compliant health insurance lead vendor.

Ensure lead vendors are legitimate by researching their website, and their reputation. Look for reviews and complaints that are mostly positive. Too many negative reviews may signal a bad lead vendor.

A vendor’s reputation will note if they are highly regarded in the industry or are not trustworthy. Check social forums in addition to online reviews.

Reputable lead vendors are:

• Transparent
• Exclusive
• Proven to be successful

Now that you know what to look for, we’ll provide our suggestion for a lead vendor that is vetted and compliant.

IntegrityCONNECT Leads Should Be Your Lead Vendor

To ensure compliance and protect your business, we strongly recommend using IntegrityCONNECT leads, which provides vetted and verified leads that meet legal and compliance requirements.

All lead vendors that sell through IntegrityCONNECT leads have been vetted by Integrity’s security and compliance teams, including an assessment of their business related to offshore activities and the requirement of proof of consent from the actual consumer through technologies that validate the consumers information and the digital verification of the consent.

Leads that result in a sale and any duplicate leads are removed so you receive high quality leads.

As a Ritter agent, you get access to IntegrityCONNECT leads with your free registration.

Reporting Suspicious Activity

If you have any doubts about a lead source or have encountered suspicious activity, please report it to [email protected] immediately so we can investigate and take appropriate action.

Thank you for your continued diligence and commitment to ethical business practices. Your adherence to these guidelines is crucial for the security of our operations at Ritter Insurance Marketing and Integrity.