How A Car DVR Can Help You Avoid Road Scams

We all know that we need to be careful on the road – however, these days, danger may be coming from where we least expect it.Road scams are becoming a widespread phenomenon and drivers all over the world are being warned to watch out for signs of fraud.

Flash-for-cash Scams

Motorists are warned about a new “popular” road scam that has been dubbed by anti-fraud experts as “flash-for-cash”. The method is simple: scammers flash the lights to get a driver out of a junction and then crash into them. The rest is obvious: fake insurance claims in the UK related to the scam are costing insurers hundreds of millions of pounds a year.

Targeted drivers are usually older people, women with children, new drivers – or anyone who feels more vulnerable on the road.

Crash-for-cash Scams

Crash-for-cash appeared earlier than the above and actually served as “inspiration” for flash-for-cash. In this scenario, criminals would slam on the brakes so that the car behind them crashes into the back of their car.

In both cases, scammers can claim personal injury, loss of earnings, vehicle repairs and more – you get the idea.

Broken Vase Scam

Known as “peng cier” in China, the scam is one of the most popular in Asia – whether on the road or sidewalk. The perpetrator would pretend to be carrying something valuable – typically, an antique (hence, the name of the scam). The criminal would then pretend to be pushed by your car or bump into you as you are walking and claim that you now owe him/her money for the expensive item.

With new varieties of road scams coming to life, the phenomenon has become a real blight on the insurance industry – driving up insurance costs for everyone. With fake accident claims taking up to 392 million pounds in the UK and as much as 6 billion dollars in the US each year, it’s clear that something needs to be done.

While it may take some time for law enforcement to put the necessary measures in place, you can already protect yourself from trouble by installing a car DVR.

It’s been shown that car DVRs act as great deterrents against scammers as most won’t want to target a car with a dash cam installed. And even if they do, you will be able to provide HD video proof of what really went down and put the criminals in place.

How To Pick A Car DVR

Any car DVR or dash cam would do the job of making fraudsters think twice before approaching your vehicle. Depending on what you want to use your dash cam for, there are several key elements you may want to consider.

• video quality (go for the cam that will give you HD footage and high-quality pics)

• auto power on (this feature makes sure the cam starts filming as soon as you put the key into ignition)

• G-sensor (when the car makes a sudden stop or turn, the cam will “know” it’s important and save it for playback)

• storage space (2 minutes of video require 100Mb of space. Make sure your dash cam has enough storage)

• driver assistance (some dash cams feature Lane Departure Warning, Front Collision Warning, Headlight Warning and more)

Read more in our detailed Car DVR Buyer’s Guide.