Good news: there are a lot of potential paid opportunities for unemployed stunt drivers right now. Bad news: these gigs aren’t above board, legally speaking.
Driving the news: Staged auto collisions surged some 400% last year in Canada, according to recently released data from Aviva Insurance’s claims investigation unit. There were an estimated 1,066 faked crashes; that’s a lot of fraudulent fender-benders and untrue T-bones.
The Greater Toronto Area was the top region of concern, but Aviva noted the practice was spreading rapidly to other major cities including Ottawa, Calgary, and Halifax.
How it works: Scammers will buy used cars for cheap and roll back odometers to increase their perceived value or enroll others to use their own cars. They will then either stage crashes with participants or implicate unknowing drivers by purposely causing a collision.
Why it’s happening: Organized crime groups in Canada are now running increasingly sophisticated operations to take advantage of loopholes in Canada's insurance infrastructure. For example, finding ways to purposely crash cars where they won’t appear legally at fault.
The 18% drop last year in reported auto thefts might also have been a factor. While the national crackdown on stolen cars appears to be working, it means that enterprising criminals have shifted their attention to other pursuits, like faked crashes.
Why it matters: The surge is bad news all around: scammers use the claims to fund more criminal activities, false payouts add up for insurers who pass the cost down to law-abiding customers, and lives are put at risk with more of these staged crashes taking place on busy highways.—QH
