Have you been a victim of 'flash for cash'?
Con men have a new tactic to defraud insurance companies and innocent drivers - but it's not what you think.
Picture the scene: You’re pulling out of a petrol station or side road and a driver on the main road slows down and flashes his or her lights, indicating it’s safe to pull out in front of them.
Off you go – but instead of letting you join the stream of traffic the other driver speeds up and crashes into the side or rear of your car. Because you’ve pulled out into the main road the accident is technically your fault, whether the other driver appeared to be letting you in or not.
Bad luck – you’ve been flashed for cash.
How the scam works
Flash for cash is a variation on fraudsters’ favourite “crash for cash”. This type of scam centres on making exaggerated and fraudulent car insurance claims against an insurer after a staged or deliberate road traffic accident.
In most cases a member of the gang will slam on his brakes and cause the innocent driver behind them to crash into the back of his car, an incident that is technically the fault of the driver behind.
After swapping insurance details the innocent driver’s insurance company will be on the end of a massive claim from the other party. This will normally include the price of a recovery vehicle, car hire, and whiplash injuries to the car’s passengers (normally more passengers than there actually was in the car).
Flash for cash is even craftier, as blame for the accident will come down to the innocent driver's word against the criminal's regarding whether or not they flashed their lights to let them out.
Big business
Crashing for cash is big business, estimated to cost the insurance industry more than £1.5bn a year. In many cases the gangs are part of bigger criminal networks also involved in drugs and people smuggling.
For honest drivers, the cost of insurance fraud is said to add an extra £50 to £100 onto everyone’s premium.
The Asset Protection Unit, a company which helps the police and the insurance industry investigate fraud, has warned drivers about flash for cash. It said it’s seen an increased number of cases since the start of the year.
Claims or accident management companies are key players in crash or flash for cash. This sort of no-win-no-fee company exists to take care of the needs of innocent collision victims – everything from pursuing personal injury claims to arranging courtesy car hire while the damaged vehicle is being repaired.
But while some claims management firms are genuine, many are set up by fraudsters to defraud insurance companies. The Insurance Fraud Bureau found that a high number of CMCs can be found in crash for cash hotspots.
How to avoid becoming a victim
The simple advice to avoid being a flash for cash victim might be to ignore anyone who flashes their lights to let you out of a side turning – but that could result in a lot of sitting around at junctions waiting to go.
Fortunately the APU has identified certain drivers more likely to be targeted than others. These include elderly motorists or women with young children in the car who might not put up too much resistance at the scene. Drivers with new-ish cars, almost certain to be insured, are also a typical target.
If you think you’ve been a victim of flash for cash, try and collect as much evidence as you can at the scene including details of any witnesses who may have seen the other driver flash their lights. Be especially suspicious if the other driver already has their insurance details written down ready to give you.
Alert both the police and your insurance company to your suspicions and keep an eye on your insurance claim – if the other party has wildly exaggerated the incident, damage or injuries sustained then you have reason to be suspicious.
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Comments
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firstly, lets get rid of the myth that flashing your lights means you can go or that its safe...... READ THE HIGHWAY CODE.... flashing headlights is the same as sounding the horn... it means STOP, theres danger.... DO NOT PROCEDE. the myth started because lorry drivers flash when overtaking..... they put (or should do) the headlights ON (not flashed) to say DON'T PULL IN and extinguish them to say "its ok now... you've passed me".... this is often added to as a reinforcement.. long lights (don't pull in) lights out (its ok) short flash as reinforcement that its ok. for cars, it is unambiguous.... lights ON or FLASH = keep out of my way, I'm in danger. whilst we are on the subject of driving etiquette.... do NOT give way to learners..... give them room and don't "harass" them..... learners need to learn for themselves....... if you flash them when they're on test, they will probably fail......... if they go on the flash its your decision not theirs and that can easily fail them.......... give them room.. stop with a large gap and ignore them... make it obvious its THEIR decision not yours.
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@eletricblue, your a strange one??? A professional driver is someone who drives for a living, I work for a company with some 1300 vehicles all fitted with cameras, as even you can appreciate with a fleet that big, we are invoved in a fair few accidents, a large number of these are staged, we have a massive accident investigation team involving some of the country best investigators who have access to a database of this type of accident, to date we have not had a single staged accident caused by a person born in this country, we have though uncovered some really big organised gangs, some of which are now spending time at her majesty pleasure. Before you unlease your sarcasm on this type of forum, you really need to study simple facts, you know ones like 94% of all ATM crimes in London is committed by eastern Europeans, not my fault, just FACT.
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This got very nasty, didn't it? And so much for being polite and on-topic. I live in a London Borough where probably 80% of the population have dark skin or come from another country. If I am involved in an accident in my neighbourhood, the chances are 80% that the other driver will be black, Asian or Eastern European. That doesn't mean that they are worse drivers or more likely to be scamming, it's just numbers. The lesson seems to be that we should not automatically assume that a flash of headlights from another driver is permission to pull out. We should wait for confirmation - the car slowing right down or stopping. A wave of the hand is meaningless. This will result in slower traffic movement and lots of unnecessary mistrust, but Heigh Ho, the actions of a minority have a disproportionate impact on the majority. It's called life.
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04 September 2013