Dashcam footage allegedly shows the moment a trio of would-be fraudsters reversed into a car – seemingly to pretend they had been rear-ended.
The video shows the vehicle – driven by the alleged scammers – makings its way along NYC‘s Belt Parkway in Queens before pulling in front of and narrowly missing the car of the dashcam driver, Ashipa Natasha.
After Natasha pumped the breaks, the silver car also pulled over in front of her vehicle and then reversed quickly back into Natasha’s car.
‘Oh my God, what is he doing?’ she asked in the clip.
Natasha was on speakerphone with her husband and said to him: ‘I just got in an accident; I don’t know what’s happening. This guy just reversed into me, what the hell is going on?’
Natasha was on speakerphone with her husband and said to him: ‘I just got in an accident; I don’t know what’s happening. This guy just reversed into me, what the hell is going on’
She wrote on her post: ‘The silver Honda was in the middle lane, and they cut me off and slammed on the brakes coming to a full stop hoping I would hit them. I did not hit their car and because of that they reversed into my car for collision.’
Natasha claimed the two backseat passengers used a ‘tarp’ to cover the back windshield so the male driver could switch seats with the female passenger.
Four passengers then left the car, clutching their heads and acting as if they were injured while inspecting the damage to the bumper of their car.
Natasha said: ‘I believe the intention was to say I hit their car for insurance fraud purposes.’
One female passenger, who left the car from the driver’s side, began recording both vehicles. The other female passenger began documenting the crash as well and taking a picture of Natasha’s license plate.
‘They only came out of the car with their phones ready to record the damage to both cars. They were quick to ask for my insurance and quickly left after the exchange,’ Ashipa Natasha said
A red Kia had pulled up in front of the silver car, and picked up the suspected male driver, before driving away.
Natasha said she recalled the remaining passenger’s demeanor had changed once they spotted her dashcam.
‘They only came out of the car with their phones ready to record the damage to both cars. They were quick to ask for my insurance and quickly left after the exchange,’ she wrote.
The male passenger spoke with Natasha and explained that his wife was driving and didn’t speak English.
Natasha added in a follow-up video: ‘They were quick to exchange my license and my insurance, registration and everything so I didn’t think anything of it.’
Natasha had asked the remaining passengers to wait until her husband showed up, but they said they had to leave ‘right away to go pick up their baby’.
When a tow truck showed up to check on Natasha’s car, the other passengers took the chance to get back into their vehicle and leave.
‘I’m not really sure if they targeted me because of my car or they saw that I was driving alone,’ she said.
‘They didn’t really follow me for a long time. It seemed like everything happened really fast. It definitely seemed like this was planned out for a while. Definitely not their first time,’ she added.
It wasn’t until Natasha rewatched the video that she noticed the ‘set-up’ or change in drivers, as she was driving by herself and ‘everything happened so fast’.
The video shows the vehicle – driven by the alleged scammers – makings its way along NYC ‘s Belt Parkway in Queens before pulling in front of and narrowly missing the car of the dashcam driver, Ashipa Natasha
Natasha posted three videos about the incident, showing the dashcam she uses in her car, as well as the back camera footage showing the red Kia following behind her.
Comments on her post were in complete support of her, with one writing: ‘Absolutely press charges. They WILL do this again. Thank goodness you have a dash cam’
‘Like everyone said PRESS CHARGES‼️‼️this is such an old trick and they literally got caught on your dash cam,’ another wrote.
Keen watchers also made a point of how the incident was seemingly set up. One X user said: ‘The red Kia was a buffer to slow down traffic so your car didn’t hit another car so THEY wouldn’t be liable for a pile up. THAT IS WILD.’
Many viewers were urging others to invest in a dashcam as well, with another adding: ‘Insurance adjuster here: this happens soooooo much to people driving higher end vehicles. If you have a luxury vehicle (any brand) you DEFINITELY need a dash cam!!’
According to the New York State Motor Vehicle Theft and Insurance Fraud Prevention Board, in 2020, insurance carriers reported 24,238 incidents of suspected motor vehicle insurance fraud.
