Crash course in deceit: Jobless man’s stunning insurance scam confession reveals 20 staged accidents

A jobless Chinese man yesterday made a startling insurance scam confession of staging 20 accidents over two years, duping nearly 300,000 baht in compensation. According to The Paper, police from a Public Security Bureau traffic unit, upon investigating the scammer’s accident claims, uncovered a suspicious pattern.

The scammer, Chen, had been hit by “right-turning vehicles” 20 times in two years. The frequency and similarity of accidents sparked curiosity among insurance companies and the police. One insurance company flagged the abnormal frequency of the Shanghai-based scammer’s compensation claims due to his repetitive injuries.

When the insurance scam case came under scrutiny, Chen finally admitted his scheme.

In 2021, he was hit by a vehicle while chasing a cat, which sparked the idea. He decided to exploit his injuries from the accident to earn extra income, deliberately targeting right-turning vehicles due to their slower speed and blind spots, which made staging accidents easier without incurring additional injuries.

Chen acknowledged that, besides understanding the vulnerabilities of traffic, he also learnt about the mindset of vehicle owners who generally prefer to settle such matters quickly by claiming insurance. However, to maximise his claims, he forged work certificates to inflate his wages and associated expenses which he would have incurred had he been working. This deceitful behaviour eventually became a habit, reported Sanook.

The lawsuit revealed that since 2021, Chen had been exploiting his old injuries and forged income certificates to fraudulently claim compensation from victims or insurance companies, totalling 20 instances. He had illegally claimed over 60,000 yuan (290,000 baht).

Authorities in the Yangpu district of Shanghai stated that Chen intentionally caused traffic accidents, misled victims into thinking they should fully bear the responsibility, and defrauded insurance companies for compensation or victims’ money. This constitutes a crime of fraud and will be legally prosecuted.

In related scam news, over 100 Thai people became targets of a fraudulent construction company, with estimated financial losses set to surpass 16 million baht. Read more about the story HERE.