We know everyone wants to cut their expenses and get extra income. However, is it acceptable to say drastic times call for drastic measures? Due to the lingering effects of the economic downturn, it seems that many people now act against the law and even their personal regulation, and do what we can call is a desperate act to bring in additional resources for the family.

Based on a study released by the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, an organization partially funded by the nation’s largest insurance companies, fraud fighting bureaus are seeing a significant spike in cases.

“The troubled economic climate confronts many fraud bureaus with the severest challenge they’ve faced in years. But a positive outcome could be greater efficiency in combating schemes as fraud bureaus find better ways to fight crime with the resources they do have,” says Dennis Jay, the coalition’s executive director.

You might be surprised that a good number of these people who rely into these scams are actually the agents and brokerages. They are considered to be the biggest offenders, accounting for the most instances of insurance fraud in the past year. In fact, seven of ten fraud bureaus report a spike in agent cases, according to the coalition.

Other than that, you might want to be careful as bogus health plans are spreading rapidly around the U.S. as well. These swindlers are obviously taking advantage of the large market of uninsured Americans. Most fraud bureaus report a spike in fake health plans, with almost 40 percent saying their caseload was much higher due to health insurance deception.