How a viral insurance scam is raising awareness of dashcams

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A video of an alleged insurance scam in New York City is going viral, causing some in the port city to wonder what to do if they find themselves in a similar situation.

The video of an attempted insurance scam was first posted on TikTok. In it, a silver car is seen cutting off another driver, checking the brakes and suddenly reversing into the victim's car.

The entire incident, which occurred earlier this month, was captured on the victim's dashboard camera.

When the passengers in the car attempting the scam noticed the dashboard camera, they quickly got back in their car and drove away.
Mark Houdeshell works for Soundtronics in Wilmington.

He said a dash camera can protect you if you fall victim to a similar type of fraud.

“Well, I just thought it would be a good idea to have a dash cam to protect yourself and keep people honest out there,” Houdeshell said. “It really helps law enforcement and anyone involved in the accident. The claims departments really have real evidence of what’s going on out there on the roads.”

Chase Valade saw the video and said it made him think about getting a dashcam for his own safety.

“Well, my first reaction was, to be honest, I wasn't all that surprised,” Valade said. “I feel like things like this happen a lot there. I think that would help ensure that something like this doesn't happen again in the future. But also for my safety and the safety of other people who are in the car with me.”

Greg Willett is a lieutenant with the Wilmington Police Department and says if you don't have a dashcam and think you're the victim of a similar scam, there are other ways for police to obtain video evidence.

“One of the things, one of the first things an officer will do when they have the opportunity is to see if there are cameras available to our investigative center that will monitor the traffic so they can witness it, not witness it, but “for yourself, if you will,” Willett said.

Willett added that police can charge fraudsters with traffic violations if they are caught, but insurance fraud would be investigated by the state.

If you're thinking about getting a dash camera, there are front-facing cameras and you can also get dash cameras that look out the rear window and even look at the driver for added protection.