Scary Insurance Scam Happening in Great Falls

As if driving wasn't hard enough in the Electric City, a new scam has arisen in the Falls that is dangerous and scary. The crazy part of this scam is you aren't doing anything out of the ordinary in order to be a victim of it.

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It doesn't involve a text, email or even a phone call. Nor do you have to give information out to an unknown person. This not so new fraud is being centered on the vehicle you are behind the wheel of.

New Scam Involves Your Car and Your Emotions in Great Falls

This past weekend my son phoned seeking help. Nothing out of the ordinary. Until he told me what was up. My daughter-in-law and grandson had been involved in a fender bender downtown and he needed a ride to the scene.

Once we arrived, we found out the details of the "accident". It didn't involve another vehicle at all. It involved another person. And then it turned weird. Turns out, the pedestrian was attempting insurance fraud by running into traffic to be hit by a car.

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Thank You Great Falls Police Department and First Repsonders

After checking on family, my son and I spoke with the responding officers regarding the incident. Yes, in fact, once leaving the stoplight and reaching speed, a person intentionally ran into the side of my family's car to claim they had been run over intentionally.

Thankfully, the officers were aware of this person and their actions in previous "accidents" that had happened. It wasn't the first time they had attempted this fraud.

When did this sort of thing start happening in our neck of the woods of America? Have you been the victim of an insurance scam fraud like this incident? Let us know in the comments, our app chat feature or you can email me here.

Ranking States with Most Online Scams 2022

Here's a state-by-state look, using data available from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), ranking states by total amount of money lost to fraud in 2022.

Gallery Credit: Scott Clow

LOOK: The biggest scams today and how you can protect yourself from them

Using data from the BBB Scam Tracker Annual Risk Report, Stacker identified the most common and costly types of scams in 2022.

8 Things To Do If You Paid A Phone Scammer

Merciless phone scammers are targeting unaware folks with schemes involving pleas for charity, car warranties, unpaid traffic tickets, you name it. The Federal Trade Commission says, "Scammers often ask you to pay in ways that make it tough to get your money back. No matter what payment method you used to pay, the sooner you act, the better."

If you have paid one of these scammers and then realize you have been scammed, here are 8 tips from the Federal Trade Commission, on what to do if you have paid a scammer.

Gallery Credit: Brad Carpenter/Federal Trade Commission/Canva

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