Auto insurance fraud is a big headache for the victim. Not only will he have to pay higher premiums, he and/or his family can be put in danger as well, like with most car accidents. Car insurance fraud occurs in the form of staged accidents. To the untrained, it can be hard to identify whether or not an accident is faked. Nothing beats educating yourself, as these car insurance scams can even involve trustworthy people like doctors or lawyers. Here are the more popular forms of auto insurance fraud:

Rear-end Car Accidents

The driver (who is part of the scam team) will get in front of your car and abruptly hit the brakes. Of course, this will cause you to rear-end his car. The result is he will collect money for damages, and may even fake injuries to collect more money from you.

Adding Damage

After an accident, the scammer will take his vehicle to another location and wrecks his car further. Then, he will claim that the damage was incurred at the time of the accident. Again, this will cause him to collect even more insurance money from you.

Scam Helpers

These people will wave their victims into traffic and crash into the victim. When the scammer files the claim, he will deny waving anyone in. Another method they use is to offer assistance to an innocent driver and help him find a repair shop, a doctor, or a lawyer. In this kind of scam, everyone is involved. The repair shop might charge you high rates, and the doctor or the lawyer could lie to get more from your auto insurance.

These kinds of scams can happen anywhere. They are as likely to happen in Nebraska or Maine as they are in New York. So what do you do? Be aware of your surroundings. Watch for drivers who seem like they are following you or observing you. Make sure as well to have plenty of space between you and the driver in front of you in case they suddenly slam on the brakes. If an accident happens, note everything and take pictures. Finally, when you talk to your auto insurance company, let them know that you're suspecting something fishy.