Transcript of Dashcam captures dangerous alleged car insurance scam

At first, it just looks like a close call, but looks can be deceiving. Oh, my God. What is she doing? Babe. Babe, what happened? I don't know.

I got into an accident. I got into an accident. I was definitely shocked when I saw this happen.

Ashpia and Natasha didn't know it at the time, but she had potentially just become the latest victim of a new and incredibly Danish dangerous insurance scam. And her dash cam video that caught it all happening would be a viral sensation.

I'm just happy I had a dash cam that was able to prove everything.

It's a scam that authorities want people to look out for, especially in cities with heavy congestion.

People that are involved in this scam are quite often part of a larger network. They might have attorneys involved. They probably have doctors involved, people that will sign off on injuries that are very difficult to prove or disprove.

I generally thought it was an accident that happened just because of their facial expressions, the way that they acted. I thought it was unusual and definitely sketchy, but the last thing on my mind was insurance fraud.

In Natasha's case, she managed to break in time. Oh, my God. But you can see the suspect's Honda turn on its hazard lights, then back up and slam into Natasha.

My initial thought was that I took road rage, and then I thought maybe I was in danger.

The suspects then get out car, holding their heads and necks as if hurt. They begin taking photos of Natasha's license plate while she stays inside and calls police.

Which direction are you going?

Which direction are you heading? Towards Long Island. So this is a damage to my car.

Wbc investigative reporter Nina Paneda has been covering this story. When you got out, did you say, Why did you just reverse and hit me?

I did.

And what did they say?

Well, first I asked them what happened. They were just like, I don't know what happened. At one point, I did say, Why did you reverse into me? And they were just like, No.

We hear about this all the time. What's great about this is there is footage. There is dash cam video, and a lot of people don't have that.

It's definitely against the law when they slam on their brakes and they back into you because you really have some form of assault. But unless you have some way of proving your story, it is your word against theirs.

Their whole demeanor changes after they realize that I have a dash cam. You can tell that the guy, as soon as he saw the dash cam, he So it was quick to... As if he was about to turn around and leave.

Natasha also noticed a second car that pulled up after the crash, a red Kia. She says one of the passengers jumped in and drove off.

Oh, my God. There There's a follow car behind her. It's a red Kia following her.

It's disgusting what they did, and I really hope that they get punishment for it.

Within days, Natasha posted her video on TikTok, and tens of millions of people watched.

Which I did not think that my video was going to become this viral, but I'm glad that it did because I feel like we needed this exposure to make something happen.

We've since learned it appears the same group that targeted Natasha may have targeted others.

What if there's a kid in the car and the kid's not belted? Or what if somebody has an episode or a heart attack? It's a life and death game that people are playing.

This group is blamed in at least one other similar accident from August on the same highway with the same car, this time captured in an Instagram video. The red Kia shows up here, too.

Scams of these sorts have been going on for decades. We're just seeing it more now because there's more cameras.

The NYPD has an entire division dedicated to investigating fraudulent collisions.

If you have proof of it, law enforcement should be arresting those people. The district attorney should be prosecuting those people for doing an overt act.

California has the most staged accidents of any state. New York comes in number two, Florida, number three. City. The Insurance Information Institute found those staged crashes are on the rise across the country and cost auto insurers about $20 billion annually. And that, ultimately, increases premiums for everyone.

It's very expensive to insure a car now and insure yourself as a driver. These people are after not just your money, your insurance. They could come and get your home and all your assets.

The suspects eventually ditched the Silver Honda. But Natasha's video was so widely seen, New Yorkers identified it parked on the side of a city street, documenting their discovery on TikTok. It wasn't long before other angry people displayed their outrage, some even vandalizing the car before police eventually seized it and impounded it.

I do appreciate everyone looking out for me and trying to investigate and get some information.

So what to do if something like this happens to you? Experts say immediately call the police and tell them what happened. If there is an accident, move to safety. And make sure to inform your insurance company.

To prove that you are, in fact, the victim of a scam really requires one of three things. There's got to be physical evidence. Number two is you've got to have an independent witness. The third is to get a dash camera.

While that A cash cam can certainly help, experts say everyone should be aware of their specific insurance policy.

Everybody driving pays for this type of fraud because what these people are after are multimillion dollar bodily injury claims.

In Natasha's case, the suspects did file a claim against her insurance, something she hopes gets sorted out quickly. It's a felony in New York to stage a crash for insurance purposes.

It's really sickening that people go to this extreme measures to get some money. I don't think it's worth it. It takes one person with the dash cam for your plan to not work.