A few days ago, we experienced a terrifying incident while driving. My husband, myself, and our son were heading into Fort Worth. We were in the right-hand lane going 65 mph.
A pickup truck in the left lane began drifting into our car. My husband laid on the horn and the truck moved back into his lane. Moments, and I mean moments later, this same truck aggressively angled his truck in front of us into our lane. It was very obvious this was an intentional move.
It was terrifying. I let out a scream as we were INCHES from being struck. As I looked to the right there was a deep ravine that we could have easily been knocked into. Thankfully, Mark was paying attention and we avoided the collision.
As we gathered our thoughts after a few seconds, we realized we were being targeted for what has become a common scam happening in our area and from what I am hearing, all over the country. The goal for the "scammer" is to cause you to hit their vehicle and then demand your driver's license and cash.
Just a few days prior to this incident, one of my dear friends who is a widow had this same thing happen to her on this same road. She wasn't as lucky and was hit. The other driver jumped out of his truck and began aggressively yelling at her to give him her license and to pay cash. She was smart and refused to exit her car while calling 911.
What we are learning from some of our friends who are insurance agents, this is happening everywhere. These scammers are targeting people who look like they most likely have insurance. Then, they set up the "accident".
Needless to say, this is a very frightening situation. Here are the tips we have received from the insurance professionals:
1. If a collision occurs, stay as calm as you can and pull over in a safe place.
2. Call 911.
3. Do NOT engage with the other driver.
4. Video record any actions from the other driver.
5. Invest in getting a dash cam for all of your vehicles.
6. Only exit your vehicle when law enforcement arrives.
The goal of these scammers is to threaten and intimidate you. They only want to scam you out of money. Additionally, there are reports that those who do give them their license, they take a picture so they know where you live. Then, they begin stalking and showing up at their personal residence. Beware!
We are extremely fortunate that we avoided this accident. We are now very aware of this scam and hopefully will avoid being targeted in the future. This is sad but important for all to know about.
And ladies, they target females who are alone more frequently. Heads up, be safe, and stay vigilant. I hope these thugs are caught and dealt with and hopefully, don't cause a crash that ends up with injuries or worse.
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