| A Hamilton-area man’s dashcam may have saved him a pricey car insurance payout – or falling victim to a scam. The victim says one of the men jumped out of the truck and immediately started yelling at him. “He started screaming at me and saying I wasn’t paying attention and saying I had to pay for the damage.” That tune changed when he mentioned the dashcam. “Then the driver kept saying ‘be a man and don’t go through insurance.’” |
 | Police weren’t called, and generally wouldn't be for an incident in a private parking lot. Many crashes are staged to take advantage of auto insurance claims. The story gets more bizarre. While still in the parking lot, he and other driver exchanged phone numbers. They all drove off. Five minutes later, his phone rang. He knows it’s the men from the collision, as he recognizes the number. Except this time, they’re pretending to be cops. On the insurance side, having dashcam footage is critical. Typically, if you’re the person who has the front end damage in a situation like this, you’re at fault. The victim says the $ 80 he spent on the dashcam was money well invested. Staged auto crashes are a large and growing crime. The cars may suffer little damage, but the crooks still make large and illegal claims for fake injuries and car damage against your auto insurance company, or their own. |
