Women, trucks, commercial vehicles prime targets for accident-stagers

Drivers, beware! No matter what part of the valley you live in, scammers are out there looking to rip off your insurance company by staging an accident. And they’re using you, the unsuspecting victim, as their bait.

Whether you’re a little old lady in Summerlin, driving home from church bingo, or a young housewife in Henderson, driving home with the groceries, the scammers are zeroing in on women in particular. They also have begun focusing more on trucks and other commercial vehicles, which tend to carry higher limits of insurance.

The bottom line is an increase in staged accidents intentionally created to defraud insurers. And that results in an increase in the cost of auto insurance for all of us.

“There are so many of these scams going on, not just in Las Vegas, but all over,” said Terry Hulse, special agent for the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Growing concern was expressed by the Nevada Attorney General’s Office at the end of 2014, based on numbers provided by the bureau that showed a 21 percent increase in staged accidents just in one year, from 2012 to 2013.

More of these setup crimes are aimed at women who are driving alone, said Hulse, who also noted that “the landscape has changed in the last year or so. That’s because there has also been a rise in scams that are targeting commercial vehicles, and in particular trucks owned by prominent companies.

“The reason is that commercial vehicles generally carry higher limits of coverage,” he said. Several months ago, Hulse made the rounds in Summerlin, warning residents in Sun City and other local communities to beware of the scammers.

The most common ripoff scenario brings two other cars into play. Car one will wend its way in front of the target vehicle, and car two will move in front of car one. Car two will then stop suddenly, causing it to be rear-ended by car one. The target vehicle will have no choice but to rear-end car one. Meanwhile, car two — which provoked the accident — will speed away. But car one will stop, its driver pointing a finger at the target car for causing physical damage and injuries to its occupants. And there are always three or more occupants in car one, meaning that many claimants.

Add into the picture the increased use of salvaged vehicles for perpetrating the fraudulent act.

“We’re finding that, in the last several months, more of these staged accidents involve recently purchased salvaged cars,” Hulse said. The scammers then buy minimal insurance for the car that had once been junked.

“We recently had a case in which the same salvaged car had been involved in five staged accidents and was covered by five different insurance companies,” he said. “Women driving alone are by far the greatest targets. What can a woman do when four screaming guys come out of a car, wildly waving their arms and yelling, ‘You ran into us’? That’ll raise fear in any woman, young or old, and especially if it’s at night.

“Meanwhile, the car they’re using might be some 1995 model that was already junked.”

Suddenly, all four of the occupants are complaining about whiplash, back injuries and anything else they can think of. “They’re looking for a fast settlement before they move on to the next victim,” Hulse explained.

He said the bureau is finding a major uptick in truck-related accidents.

“These are above and beyond the broken taillight. Once again, they use a car to block the truck, and a second car typically moves in front of the first car, pinning down the truck.”

Then, a sudden stop by car two results in the truck rear-ending the car directly in front of it, followed by the same kind of claims for injuries.

“That’s the typical scam, and it is happening a couple of times a week around here,” Hulse said.

He emphasized that payouts for commercial vehicle scams are usually bigger due to the higher amounts of coverage. And according to the bureau, personal injury claims generally result in the biggest awards by auto insurers.

The bottom line is a robust business for scammers and higher premiums for everyone else.

Herb Jaffe was an op-ed columnist and investigative reporter for most of his 39 years at the Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. His most recent novel, “Double Play,” is now available. Contact him at hjaffe@cox.net.