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Group of Staged Crash Scammers Gets Prison Terms After Causing Over 300 Crashes

Insurance fraud is a serious offense that happens almost every day in most of the countries in the world.
Crash test between two Saab models - for illustration purposes 8 photos
Photo: Saab
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One of the schemes involves intentionally crashing a vehicle, and then scamming someone else to pay damages. While some criminals rely on a single vehicle per accident to perform a job, a ring was uncovered in the UK that involved multiple people and vehicles used at the same time to generate a seemingly legitimate crash.

The method involved a decoy car, which was driving in front of a line of cars. Another automobile, filled with passengers, would be driven behind it. The car in the front would perform an emergency stop to avoid an alleged danger. The same gesture would be made by the subsequent automobile, which would then be struck by the victim.

With all parties out of the vehicle, the scammers would claim they were injured because of the crash, and then claim damages from the victim’s insurance company. The latter would then raise the rates for the victim. In other countries, the scammers would agree to avoid going to the police in exchange for cash.

In the case of this particular scamming ring, which is responsible for "hundreds of crashes," the boss of an accident management firm was involved, and the police started an operation in 2012 to monitor the actions of the company, along with the criminals that were working with its help.

The leader of the ring was sentenced to five years in jail, but other members of the network got between 16 months and 4.5 years. You can see their names and faces in the photo gallery.

In the case you get involved in an accident that involves another driver performing unusual maneuvers or proposing “an alternative solution,” we suggest contacting the police as soon as possible.

The removal of this scamming ring does not imply that all other similar organizations have disappeared, and you could be their next target, which is why you should keep your eyes open on the road.
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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