Roadside scams: how to protect yourself and who becomes a victim

"Business" with the help of excuses has existed for a long time, but complaints about road crooks are not decreasing.  Our drivers are led not only to new schemes that scammers invent, but also become victims of old tricks.  

Spoof cars 

Most often, old and inexpensive foreign cars are substituted, the repair of which, however, is quite expensive.  The year of manufacture is more than ten years.  Such cars are not even taken for insurance.  Usually these are: 

• Audi 80, 100 or A6 of the first years of production;
• BMW 5th and 7th series;
• Chrysler Cirrus;
• Honda CRX;
• Lincoln Towncar;
• Mercedes in W201, W124, W210 or even W140 bodies;
• Mitsubishi Galant;
• Saab 9000;
• Volvo 8th or 9th series.

How to protect yourself from being caught

Do not violate traffic rules - this is just a gift for scammers!  It is practically impossible to prove that you were set up in this case.  

When changing lanes, monitor the entire situation around the car, paying special attention to the "dead zones", if you see that a foreign car is persistently "hanging" there - slow down, trying to let it pass ahead.  

Keep your distance from everything that moves or can move from a place.  

If something persistently distracts you from the road - slow down, maybe a girl in a car in the left row who is flirting with you and is the same trap.  

If they persistently blink from behind, forcing you to quickly clear the road, look at the neighboring lane, because, perhaps, this is where an ambush is being prepared.  Don't make sudden maneuvers.

Who becomes a victim 

If you are the happy owner of an old Zaporozhets, a shabby Lada, as well as the owner of a Moskvich and other Soviet models - you can sleep peacefully. So, if you do get into an accident, it is by no means due to the tricks of enemies.

Cool foreign cars are also not particularly affected, the owners of which can run over anyone, which almost seems impossible. 

The middle class remains.  These are those who have saved up for a new, albeit not very expensive foreign car and are very proud of it.  They usually have money with them. 

If you get caught 

1. Do not talk to the driver and his accomplices, do not even get out of the car.  
2. Call the traffic police.  As a rule, the scammers will immediately gather themselves and leave.  
3. Do not give anyone money and do not give in to pressure.  Remember, all cars are insured.  
4. Call the traffic police and the insurance company only from your phone.  
5. Use a video recorder.  This will discourage scammers from contacting you and will help prove your innocence.  
6. Look in all directions, if there are witnesses - write down their phone numbers.

Characteristic signs of the cause:

• There are no license plates on the «victim» car or they are covered with dirt, and the glass is heavily tinted;  
• The passenger(s), not the driver of the «victim» car, takes the lead in analyzing the accident;  
• You are being sued and money is immediately demanded. At the same time, you are being threatened in a veiled or very specific manner, or psychologically pressured;  
• The «victims» have a desire to sort things out without calling the traffic police, or they call the traffic police themselves;  
• The damage to the «victim» car and your car clearly do not match the picture of the accident;  
• «Victims» set strict time limits, such as: «money is needed in an hour, in 40 minutes the service will close, you have 2 hours to collect money, etc.»;  
• «Victims» are ready to reduce the amount of damage from $ 1000 to $ 50.

The most useful advice

Insure voluntary civil liability! 

Source: Komsomolskaya Pravda