You are perhaps driving a little too close to the car in front, but you are not stupidly close and the traffic is not moving that fast, any slower and it would be a crawl.

It's been a long hard day and your mind is on getting home and getting some food inside you, you are driving on mental autopilot.

Suddenly and with no warning a vehicle cuts in front of the car in front of you, that car brakes . . .

Cruuump! You have just rear ended.

You are not hurt, you were not going any speed. But drat, your clean driving record has gone. You pride yourself on your careful considerate driving and you are kicking yourself for not leaving just a little more room.

Don't feel too bad about your driving, you have unknowingly been caught in a staged accident scam.

You get out of your car, so does the other driver. You fear he is going to be an angry bunny as you have driven into his vehicle.

You ask him if he is hurt at all, he amiably replies that he is okay and his wife, who is a passenger is also okay, it was only a bump. He says he is sorry for braking suddenly but could do nothing else as the other car cut him off. Hey! he is not Mr Angry after all but seems to be Mr Nice Guy.

The third vehicle of course is not around, it has long disappeared. Neither of you got its license plate. If you haven't realized it yet, that third vehicle is part of the auto accident scam.

You note that Mr Nice Guy's car is not exactly showroom fresh and has likely been driven enough miles to get around the globe several times. There is not much damage to either vehicle.

 Staged Accident. Take photographs of the damage to all vehicles.

The staged accident scam might go one of several ways here.

Mr Nice Guy may suggest that as damage to his car is minimal, you might want to give him the cash to get the small dent fixed and that will end the matter. He sympathizes with the situation but you did drive into him after all. If you don't have the cash with you or you don't like that idea, he makes another suggestion.

He ask you if you really want to bother the insurance companies. If a claim goes in you will end up paying plenty in increased rates. You reflect that is true, that small bump is going to cost you one way or the other.
Mr Nice Guy says he has a good buddy in the auto accident repair business and can get his damage fixed dirt cheap. This sounds good to you. So the guy asks for proof of your ID, makes a note of your license plate, and tells you he will send you the bill probably in just a couple of days.

Everything is sweet. Until . . .

. . . you get a call from Mr Nice Guy's attorney.

The damage to not so nice guy's vehicle is considerable you are told. How could this be, you've seen the damage and it was just a small dent! And then, the attorney informs you that there are injury claims from the driver and his three passengers.
What? There were no injuries from that small accident and there was only the driver and his wife in the car, where did the other two passengers come from?

The staged accident fraudsters are really going to town on this one. You see Mr Nice Guy really does have a buddy in the accident repair business, a buddy that is prepared to way overstate the damage for a cut from the staged traffic accident scam.

The injuries that the phone victims claim they received will likely be ones that are hard to disprove like neck and back strain. Then again, the insurance fraudsters could have dishonest doctors on their team. And that attorney . . . who knows?

The auto accident insurance scam is not always staged for a rear end collision. You could be passing through a crossroad when a vehicle shoots out and rams you.

Witnesses appear from nowhere and swear that you jumped a red light.
What can you do? Be mindful that things may not be all they seem. If you are involved in a collision be aware that it could be a staged accident, call the police.
Use you cell phone camera, or a disposable camera to take photographs of the accident damage on both vehicles. If possible also take photographs of the other driver, passengers and any witnesses.
Get the names, addresses and phone numbers of all concerned parties.

File an accident claim with your insurance provider, do not settle a claim privately.

Insurance companies are nowadays acutely aware that staged accident scam rings exist. They are taking steps to combat them and the FBI has been successful in bringing these fraudsters to book.
You can't do better than leaving plenty of room between your vehicle and the one in front, you just never know . . .

Source:http://www.surveillanceforsecurity.com/staged-accident.html