Motorists Urged Not To Be Victims Of Sophisticated Car Insurance Scams
Motorists are being warned of the dangers of falling victim to a new wave of high-level car insurance fraud scams. A development in modern technology has meant that fraudsters and organised crime rings are looking for ever more sophisticated ways to defraud insurance companies whilst finding ways of avoiding detection.
Through awareness, motorists can ensure they become less likely to end up as a victim, therefore it is important that people know the type of insurance tricks that conmen are prepared to use. The most popular scam is setting up car-accidents.
This type of fraud can include a vehicle stopping abruptly in front of another car so as to cause a rear end collision or for a motorist to pretend they are being helpful, when they actually intend to instigate an accident that will look like the fault of the innocent driver.
Motorists should ask themselves the question, ‘How do I spot when these situations are developing around me?’
Signs that a scam might be carried out will include a driver following too closely, or two vehicles, apparently travelling together, but are in front and behind another car. Both should be worthy of extra attention and caution.
The easiest situation for fraudsters to pull off their trick is to brake sharply in front of another car being driven by an innocent motorist, which results in a rear-end collision. Motorists therefore need to make sure that they keep their distance and concentration and watch out for any unusual driving movements.
One car expert said, “These staged accidents involve a driver deliberately engineering a situation in which you crash into their car. This is obviously an insurance scam; in fact there are a whole series of criminal acts in which you as a driver are made a victim of someone else’s desire to make money from your car insurance company.
Another scam for people to be aware of are cars driving to another location following an accident and adding significant damage to their vehicle, so they can claim it all occurred during the original collision. Taking photos of the cars involved directly following the accident, including one of the drivers and the number of people in the cars will help when establishing the facts. A single occupant car, which then makes a subsequent claims for four sets of whiplash is a serious issue faced by many insurance companies.
