Southern California tow truck scammers are taking advantage of confusion and concussions after car crashes. As reported by the California Post, victims have been scammed out of thousands of dollars.
One woman was a victim of the scam, having to pay $3,000 to get her car from a tow yard. Police explained that she had been scammed by a tow truck driver.
Brittany Williams explained that she felt very confused after getting involved in a car crash. She wanted to contact the police or her car insurance provider, but, before she could, a tow truck driver showed up. The driver falsely claimed he was affiliated with the police and then talked her into letting him tow her car.
She explained the way he talked her into it. "He was like, 'Listen, let me help you, let him help you.' He also started giving me this story about how he can give me an estimate—there's going to be no charge, accidents like this happen. This is why he was here. The police contacted him."
She ended up signing a receipt for the car, thinking that she wouldn't be charged and that everything would be okay. That would certainly not be the case.
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One Woman Was Charged $3,000 by the Scammer
Williams eventually realized the scammer wasn't affiliated with the police. When she went to call the driver, the line was dead—he wasn't responding.
When she tracked her car down to the tow yard where it was being held, she brought police with her. But, the police sided with the scammer. She had made a fatal mistake.
Her mistake was that she signed the receipt—it made the charges on it legally binding. The scammer got away with things, but there is still an investigation to find him.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office has warned drivers of "tow truck bandits" within the county recently. "If you're in an accident, some tow truck drivers may try to take advantage of your situation. These 'tow truck bandits' monitor radio traffic and rush to crash scenes, posing as helpful tow truck operators," the DA explained.
