A Chicken Chaser Called Ben Dover?

‘Fakes’ Could Be Compromising Insurance Cover

A list of the most bizarre and suspected-fake details that Brits use when filling in online forms is today released by price comparison website thecomparisons.com. It is warning that Brits tempted to use fake names or occupations could be unknowingly compromising their insurance policies.

Using a data resource of more than eight million people across the UK, thecomparisons.com has revealed the top ‘suspected fakes’ people enter when completing online forms, such as car insurance quotes or mailing list applications.

Of the thousands of potentially dodgy details that are flagged up each month, among the most common and strangest jobs were chicken chaser, chicken sexer and artificial limb fitter! A ‘pearl stringer’ even made an appearance!

While a proportion of the jobs listed are likely to be genuine, some are thought to be fictionalised.

The UK’s Top 15 Suspected Fake or Bizarre Jobs¹
1. Dog Beautician (17%)
2. Chicken Chaser (15%)
3. Parachute Packer (15%)
4. Artificial Limb Fitter (13.5%)
5. Chicken Sexer (12%)
6. Balloonist (5.5%)
7. Sheriffs (4%)
8. Clairvoyant (4%)
9. Palmistry Expert (4%)
10. Pig Manager (2%)
11. Kissagram (1.5%)
12. Dendochronologist (someone who studies tree rings – 1%)
13. Ventriloquist (1%)
14. Ocultist (0.5%)
15. Pearl Stringer (0.5%)
¹Percentages based on only most bizarre/suspected fakes taken from data resource

Entering any false details when applying for an insurance quote online can result in consumers unknowingly compromising their insurance cover by not properly registering details.

thecomparisons.com data also revealed there’s a ‘plague’ of fake names being used in online application forms - ranging from famous faces to fictional characters.

Top Famous Names
1) David Beckham
2) Elvis Presley
3) Frank Sinatra
4) Jimi Hendrix
5) Marilyn Monroe

Top Fictional Names
1) Barney Rubble
2) Bart Simpson
3) Indiana Jones
4) Scooby Doo
5) James Bond

Top Comedy Names
1) Anette Curtain
2) Banana Man
3) Ben Dover
4) Hugh Jarse
5) Justin Credible

The findings are based on data available to thecomparisons.com, where the suspected fake details are automatically filtered out of more than 700,000 entries per month.

Chris McDonald, Director of thecomparisons.com, said: “While some of the names and job titles are bound to be genuine, the frequency that some of them occur would indicate people are making some of them up. Though it may be tempting to enter false details as a bit of fun when researching a quote, it’s worth remembering that you should never enter any fabricated details when actually applying for a policy.”

“There’s every chance you’ll have to fill the form in and re-apply, wasting all the time you could have saved by using a price comparison website. And worse still, there’s a risk that the fake details could cause problems if you do need to make a claim.”

The Nation’s Favourite ‘Fakes’ Revealed

‘Ben Dover’, ‘James Bond’ and ‘Al Coholic’ all make list

According to new research from price comparison website thecomparisons.com, the famous faces most likely to be applying for online car insurance quotes are Bob Marley, David Beckham and Marilyn Monroe – despite only one of them being alive!

Using a data resource of more than eight million people across the UK, thecomparisons.com has produced a definitive chart of the fake names Brits use when filling in online forms – such as car insurance quotes or mailing list applications – to help it better understand customer behaviour.

Topping the list was the pseudonym ‘Joe Bloggs’, which accounted for 48% of identifiable fake entries monitored by thecomparisons.com during a one month period. Coming second was ‘James Bond’ with 11% of entries and in third place came ‘Fred Bloggs’ with 10%. In joint fourth place came ‘Bob Marley’ and ‘Ben Dover’ with 7% each.

The most popular fake female name emerged as ‘Marilyn Monroe’, accounting for 1% of all fake names entered during the month.

Just outside of the top ten were the suspect-sounding ‘Al Coholic’, ‘Jock Strap’, various members of the Simpsons family and several Star Wars characters including ‘Darth Vader’ and ‘Jabba the Hut’.

The top ten fake names
1) Joe Bloggs – 48%
2) James Bond – 11%
3) Fred Bloggs – 10%
4) Bob Marley – 7%
5) Ben Dover – 7%
6) Jo Bloggs – 6%
7) Bob Builder – 4%
8) Fred Flintstone – 3%
9) David Beckham – 2%
10) Marylyn Monroe – 2%

The findings are based on data provided by thecomparisons.com, monitored during November 2007, with the suspected fake names are automatically filtered out of more than 700,000 entries.

Chris McDonald, director of thecomparisons.com, said: “It’s fascinating to see the false names people use online, and it’s something a few of us have been guilty of at some stage. However, it’s worth remembering, price comparison websites are all about giving the customer added value and saving them huge amounts of time, and using false names will only make this process take longer than it needs to.”