Where to call, what to record and how to behave, in order not to become a victim of staged accident fraud.
Scheme 1
You are calmly driving a car when suddenly a pedestrian jumps out onto the road and theatrically rushes to your hood. While you are in shock, he begins to writhe from phantom pains, accuse you of hitting and intimidate you with the withdrawal of driving license or prison.
The performance may be accompanied by a demonstration of a Swiss watch or an expensive gadget that the unfortunate victim allegedly crashed during the fall. Then he suggests that you decide everything on the spot and pay him compensation.
What to do
- If you have a DVR, tell the scammers about it. As a rule, they understand that their acting will not be so convincing on the video, and take their leave.
- If there is no DVR, immediately start filming everything that happens on the phone.
- Take a picture of the “victim”, the position of the car, damage, brake marks and the condition of the asphalt itself: dry, wet, covered with snow.
- Find witnesses who witnessed the “collision” with their own eyes and take their contacts.
- Pay nothing to scammers and just call the police.
Scheme 2
You are calmly standing by your car when suddenly an indignant person flies up. He begins to scream that you hit his car, ran away and now must pay for the repair.
The “injured” leads you to his car and shows damage. As a rule, they are compatible with those that are already on yours. It also happens that the necessary scratches are pre-applied to your car with sandpaper. A fraudster threatens the police and says that he will withdraw your driver’s license for escaping from the scene of the accident. But if you pay him for repairs, out of the kindness of heart, he is ready to drop the case.
Sometimes scammers even file a complaint with the police. Allegedly, you hit their car and left, and they managed to write down the number. The goal is to repair your car at the expense of insurance.
What to do
- Record the fake victim’s machine numbers.
- Take a picture of both cars and say that you are going to do a paint analysis at the damage sites of both cars.
- If a fraudster arrives immediately with a policeman, ask him to show his ID. To be sure that the employee is genuine, contact your local prosecutor.
- If the case has already been opened, find a car attorney — he will help to prove that there was no accident.
- In no case do not pay the money: the fraudster will continue to blackmail you with an escape from the scene of an accident.
Scheme 3
You are driving in the left lane, suddenly a car overtakes you and sharply slows down in front of you. You do not have time to get away from the collision and crash into its rear bumper. According to the rules of the road, you must observe the distance and calculate the braking distance, so the one who is behind will always be to blame.
Fraudsters know this and often use this technique to get money from the insurance and repair the bumper.
What to do
- Do not leave the scene of an accident: until all the circumstances have been clarified, this could be a real crime.
- Tell the fraudster that he is responsible for the accident, as sudden braking for no reason is prohibited.
- Collect the testimonies of witnesses, find out their names and phone numbers.
- Call the police to draw up a report and talk about the aggressive emergency behavior of the car in front of you.
In such situations, always contact your lawyer who will help to prove the intentional provocation of the accident.
Picture Credit: Unsplash