Staged collisions increasingly involving innocent drivers: The Co-operators

To make staged collisions appear more authentic, fraudsters are increasingly involving innocent drivers, warns The Co-operators.Common tactics that authorities have identified include:

• target and bullet: staged collisions in which an unsuspecting car is hit intentionally;
• swoop and squat: a driver slams on their brakes to get an 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; and
• drive down or wave-in: a driver exiting a parking lot is ‘waved in’ by a driver on the roadway. The roadway driver accelerates into the merging car once they enter the roadway, intentionally hitting the innocent driver and causing a collision where the innocent driver appears to be at fault.

The Co-operators offers the following advice to insureds involved in a collision to protect themselves from fraud:

• count how many people are in the other vehicle(s). Take note of ages and genders, and even obtain names and contact information;
• call the police to the scene, file a police report and keep a copy. Do not take further direction from anyone other than a police officer;
• be wary if a tow trucker pressures or offers money to go to a particular body shop, paralegal or medical professional. Ask the insurer for a list of preferred auto shops;
• take photos of the scene, including damage to all vehicles involved; and
• make sure all bills are detailed and accurate, medical treatments offered are necessary, and always read forms thoroughly before signing them.