Rampant Tow Truck Scam Exploiting Southern California Drivers, Officials Warn

The California Department of Insurance is warning people in the Southland about a scam called “vehicle hostage,” in which tow truck companies target people who have been in car crashes.

The department said in a news release on Tuesday that the scam, in which drivers are tricked into paying a lot of money to get their cars back, has spread all over Southern California.

“In this case, one of the scams involves a tow truck showing up right after an accident and offering to help the driver by taking their car to a body shop,” the news release said. “After that, the body shop makes the driver pay a lot of money that is usually not covered by insurance to get their car back.”

The Inland Empire Automobile Insurance Fraud Task Force of CDI did a large-scale investigation and charged 16 people with plotting to make false insurance claims that brought in illegally close to $217,000.

Authorities say that the same ring was charged with a similar plan in which cars were stolen under pretenses and then sent to California Collision in San Bernardino.

When drivers are in a crash, they should be aware of these red flags:

Tow cars that come right away after an accident, even if you haven’t called
The tow truck driver tells the victim which body shop will be taking their car.
The tow truck driver tells the victim that someone is going to call or ask for a signature.
The tow truck driver asks the victim to share a ride.

If you think you might be a victim of this illegal plan, you should check with your insurance company about the tow truck company or wait for the California Highway Patrol to confirm that they sent the tow truck. Lastly, don’t sign anything until you know for sure that the tow truck business is who they say they are.

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said, “This kind of scam takes advantage of drivers right after an accident when they should be thinking about their safety and what to do next, not fighting to get their car back.” “Our department wants to keep Californians safe from fraud.”

You can call the California Department of Insurance at 800-927-4357 or go to insurance.ca.gov to find out more about how to protect yourself or to report scam.