Steer clear of auto insurance fraud

Some people go to great lengths to make staged car accidents look authentic. Avoid becoming an innocent party in a fraudulent car accident by getting to know the three most common accident scams:

• Target and bullet: staged collisions in which an unsuspecting car is hit intentionally.
• Swoop and squat: a driver slams on their brakes, causing the innocent driver to rear-end the vehicle. In some cases, two vehicles are involved in the fraud, causing an innocent third party to rear-end the second vehicle.
• Drive-down or wave-in: a driver on the road motions for a driver exiting a parking lot to move in ahead of them. The roadway driver accelerates into the merging car once they enter the roadway, intentionally hitting the innocent driver, causing a collision where the innocent driver appears to be at fault.

In these types of collisions, the organizers pay their pre-arranged crash victims, tow truck drivers, witnesses and questionable medical clinics to falsify records to profit from insurance payouts.

Be aware of cars following too closely, suddenly cutting you off, or waving you in, especially if there are three or more adults in the vehicle. If you’re worried about the actions of drivers around you, find a safe spot to pull over and wait to enter traffic when you feel it’s safer.

Whenever you’re on the road, it helps to stay alert and be prepared. Watch this video to know what to do at the scene of a car accident.