Avoid car accident stunt men who stage accidents for profit. Believe it, there are sound-minded people who stage automobile accidents. These con artist are pro’s—they are efficient at what they do.
How they choose a target
Contents
Professional stagers target older drivers or young women as they exit or enter a shopping mall or parking area. If you appear distracted while driving or are on the cell phone—you are a perfect target.
Plan execution
These scammers have various tactics.
Swoop and stop
This scam involves two cars. One car cuts you off and then suddenly squat or stops. The other car almost simultaneously comes alongside your car—preventing you from changing lanes.
After the ensuing collision, the passengers of the stopped car you hit will collaborate with a medical professional to file phony injury claims.
T-bone
This occurs when the scammer will wait for your car to go through an intersection. The driver then slams down hard on their gas pedal and crashes into the side of our car—thus the name T-bone. They have phony witnesses lurking to give false information to police officers when they arrive on the scene—claiming that you ran the red light or stop sign.
The Wave
The wave is a deceptive tactic. The scam artist notices that you want to switch lanes. He will wave you ahead. Then as you are coming into the lane, he will gun the gas—causing an accident with your car. When the authorities arrive, he will deny waving you to go ahead. This usually occurs in heavy traffic. The fault of the accident will be placed on you.
You may be wondering why people would fake car accidents—which not only puts their lives at risk but also others.
The purpose of staging fake car accidents
It is for the money. These schemes are not for a few hundred dollars. These million dollar operations involve a network of people such as — tow companies, mechanics, doctors, witnesses, and others.
How to avoid being scammed
Do you know how many car crashes occur each year in Austin, Travis County, Texas each year? How many of those car crashes are serious injury and how many fatalities occur each year? It’s a sad fact of life that so many drivers and passengers die each year on Texas roads when many of these crashes can be preventable.
You can avoid being scammed with a few simple steps.
- Be an alert driver
- Don’t tailgate
- Always carry a disposable camera or use your cell phone camera and take pictures of all cars from all angles if involved in an accident
- Keep a pad and pen in your car
- Call the police even if the accident is minor
- Get the license, insurance, name and address and registration information for all involved
- Don’t use doctors, mechanics, or tow company suggested by the other party involved in the collision
- Report the accident immediately to your insurance company
- Be careful about how much personal information you give out—you don’t want to also be a victim of identity theft
Then hire an Austin Injury Lawyer who is an expert at weeding out false claims and protecting your interests. He will tell you if something is “fishy”. This is one of the benefits of hiring an Austin injury lawyer.