Drivers beware: Latest insurance scam could cost you
Filed under: Insurance, Ripoffs and Scams, Fraud, Consumer Ally, Insurance-car
Crooks really don't know any bounds to how low they can go. Video aired on Good Morning America showing members of an insurance fraud ring setting up motorists -- mainly women -- for collisions is a demonstration of the depths they are willing to plumb.The crooks stage accidents that make the victim look to be at fault and then, working with doctors who write up bogus medical reports, they go on to collect big insurance payouts. Video footage of the scammers in action shows just how devious the criminals are and how reckless they are with other people's lives. What's scarier, according to the report, is this type of crime appears to be on the increase.
You can watch the video here:
In one incident caught on tape, a white SUV idles in front of a driveway to a parking lot on a busy street. As a woman in an oncoming vehicle looks to make a left turn into the lot from the other side of the road, the idling motorist waves that it's OK to turn. But when the woman starts to turn, the once idling SUV pulls forward, forcing her to stop halfway into the opposing traffic lanes. By then, the SUV driver had already signaled with his brake lights to an accomplice in another car that it was time. The accomplice then barrels down the road and rams the woman's car. The SUV that started the whole incident, drives away.
That scenario -- with the same white SUV playing the same role -- was also captured by security cameras on another occasion. None of the crooks in those Los Angeles crashes were arrested, according to the report.
USAA, an insurance company that caters to military members and their families, also demonstrated some less complex accidents that are not accidents at all, but rather insurance fraud set-ups. In one such scam, the crook drives in front of the victim and suddenly hits the brakes, causing the victim to rear-end them. In each case, the target -- typically women driving alone -- appears to be the cause of the accident.
Fraudulent and "abusive" insurance claims lead to between $4.8 billion and $6.8 billion in added payouts each year, according to the Insurance Research Council. An estimated one in 10 claims is fraudulent, according to insurance industry research.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau, which also works for the insurance industry, has an anti-fraud toll-free hotline (800-835-6422) for anyone with information about an insurance fraud that has taken place. Some callers could be eligible for rewards.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 14)
10-07-2009 @ 8:11PM
Dirty Harry said...
This is why you need to carry a gun in your car.
Reply
10-07-2009 @ 9:34PM
Art said...
You mean a knife. So you can cut the seat belt off of you when you're trapped. A gun isn't going to do you any good at all. I doubt the person in the other car will be armed since their car will be looked at by police since it is an accident of severity. You are too ignorant and should have your comment privileges revoked.
10-07-2009 @ 8:32PM
Joshua` said...
Well said. I agree completely!
10-07-2009 @ 8:39PM
Butterfly said...
Haha! So true.
10-10-2009 @ 12:55PM
Deadpool said...
uhhhhhhh what?
10-07-2009 @ 8:45PM
paymyownway said...
I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS ONE!
WE LIVED IN PHOENIX, AND SCAMS ESPECIALLY WITH ILLEGALS GO ON ALL THE TIME.
THIS IS HOW ONE WORKS. YOU ARE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY, AND A VEHICLE WILL PULL IN FRONT OF YOU AND PUT ON IT'S BRAKES, THEN YOU HIT IT.
USUALLY FULL OF ILLEGALS.
10-07-2009 @ 9:13PM
andypg said...
i agree............
10-07-2009 @ 9:40PM
j said...
agreed
10-07-2009 @ 9:51PM
haha said...
your a idiot
10-08-2009 @ 7:55AM
Saul said...
Can't agree more with you..
10-07-2009 @ 9:55PM
Bill said...
I agree!
10-07-2009 @ 10:37PM
Kathy said...
Art.... You know what the gyst of his comment was.... Why do you have to have such a smart-a$$ comment?
Point is.... these criminals need to be stopped.
10-08-2009 @ 12:23AM
bellered said...
Or, you could avoid this crap by driving correctly, idiots.
If you're following closely enough that someone can "force" you into an accident by hitting their brakes, you're following too close. Period.
If that woman trying to turn into the mall had waited until she was truly clear, she wouldn't have gotten t-boned.
If I'm driving and someone tries to wave me through or otherwise ignore the rules of the road, I ignore them. It's not polite to stop in the middle of the road to allow someone to make a turn: It's dangerous. The point of having such rules is to avoid accidents. When we disregard them, accidents (whether accidental or not) will happen.
The woman trying to turn into the mall should've kept driving and found some other way to her destination.
10-08-2009 @ 1:06AM
barb said...
No, I belive ur the idoit here! He ment that he would need a gun to shot the jerks causing the acadents. DUH!!!
10-08-2009 @ 3:57AM
Mich said...
Wow, you show your smart, probly a reject lol
10-08-2009 @ 5:23AM
Larry said...
Dirty Harry shoot Art!!!!
10-07-2009 @ 8:10PM
Whoever you are said...
Fifty years in prison sounds about right. If there's a resulting loss of life, swift execution is in order.
Reply
10-07-2009 @ 10:36PM
Kyle said...
Yup. Just kill them, that'll teach them to kill people. As long as the government does it it's okay right?
10-07-2009 @ 10:59PM
Kathy said...
Now, THAT'S even better.
10-07-2009 @ 10:51PM
RBlakeH said...
I think prison would be good for them BUT ONLY if we rebuild and make only one prison for all states and put it in the middle of Death Valley. No air conditioning and no radio. News that is important is read to them once a day. they work in fields to grow their own food and clothing is supplied by family members. No congegal visits and no gyms. Maybe if we do that we can lower the cost per inmate from an average of $53,000.00 per year for each one to a more reasonable cost. They screw up, they go to prison and work off there wrong doing.