The road trick which consists of making a victim believe that they are responsible for the breakage of the mirror of another vehicle has resurfaced. There are a few tips to avoid falling into the trap.
Another one. Each season brings its share of scams, each more clever than the last. At the start of the school year, testimonies noted in the local press in Orléans or Perpignan report an already known scam which has claimed several victims: the rear-view mirror scam. Based on a well-established operating procedure, it involves two crooks and seems to target the most vulnerable people, often elderly. Explanations.
Up to several thousand euros
It is generally in a parking lot that the scam takes place. The crook’s rearview mirror is already broken and he is looking for a vehicle victim. The target is then convinced that he hit the thug’s vehicle and would have broken the said mirror. The scammer contacts his so-called auto insurance company. In reality, on the other side of the device, there is an accomplice whose sole purpose is to announce that the repair costs for the “victim” with the broken mirror are very high.
“The scammer will then be conciliatory and will offer his victim to pay a sum of money in cash, which can range from 100 euros to 4,000 euros in the most extreme cases,” notes the insurer Ornikar.
The goal for the scammers is to make the real victim believe that by doing this, they will avoid going through their car insurance company and having a penalty applied to them. If they accept, the target of the scam is accompanied to an ATM to withdraw the money requested by the scammer. Without records of this transaction, it is difficult to track down the scammers afterwards.
Contact your insurance to protect yourself
Especially since these scams generally take place without violence, thanks to well-honed acting. The first way to protect yourself is to contact yourself his car insurance at the time of the meeting with the scammer.
It is necessary to leave a trace of this accident, however tempting it may be. Offering to make a report can also help scare away a crook who wants everything to be done hand to hand, outside the official circuit. With one essential rule: never give money, even if the scammers play on the unfounded argument of the penalty. Ouest-France also notes certain cases where scammers threaten victims with the withdrawal of their licenses if they do not give in to their demands.
As in an accident, take pictures et raise the plate registration of the other vehicle, can scare away the crook. Finally, if doubt persists, call law enforcement allows you to dispel doubt and be protected in the event of an incident.
