Drivers Pay Price Of 'Crash For Cash' Sting
Manchester Evening News Online / 6th December 2006
Manchester, Oldham and Bolton are among the five worst areas in the country for staged car crashes.

The crashes are set up by criminals to target innocent drivers in a `cash for crash' sting.

More than 22,000 fraudulently-staged and induced accidents have happened since 1999 and the practice is spreading, according to figures from the Insurance Fraud Bureau.

Bradford topped the list with 1,669 reported incidents and Birmingham came second, with 1,510, followed by Oldham with 1,034, Bolton with 986, and Manchester 979. The scam was first spotted in the north west, but has now spread to London and the south east.

Typically, fraudsters drive to busy junctions and perform unexpected, needless and dangerous emergency stops to cause innocent drivers to crash into them. Claims are then made to the innocent driver's insurer, often including fictitious injuries from the criminals.

For each successful scam, the criminals can net up to £30,000 and the IFB said there is growing evidence to show the proceeds are used to fund other serious crimes, including drug trafficking and gun running.

And fraudulent insurance claims add five per cent to everyone else's premiums. IFB chairman John Beadle said he had not been surprised at the north west's record as the practice was first seen here.

He said: "The insurance industry is quite good at tackling opportunist fraud and exaggerated claims, but not very good at detecting organised fraud criminal gangs were perpetrating against us.

"By the time the industry wised-up, it was already upon us - and had been since 2003 in the north west. Why it should have started there, I don't know."

He advised motorists: "People need to think of their own safety and not do anything hasty.

"There may be people to stop and talk to.

"Take as much information as you possibly can from the other people involved. People have cameras on their phones, so take photos of the damage and the other people.

"If drivers suspect they might be victims, they should contact their insurer and the police."

Mr Beadle added: "The gangs are ruthless and innocent lives are being put at risk.

"The solution is collaboration between the insurance industry, police and the public."

Tory MP John Greenway, chairman of the Commons All Party Working Group for Insurance and Financial Services, said: "This is now a significant national problem, hitting many cities and needing an urgent national solution."