I only realized this is a scam after I left the scene, pissed at myself of giving the scammer my info instead of call him out at the scene.
I parked my car behind a white 2000s Lincoln town car that already had some bumper damage. Behind me is a driveway so I parked closely. When I walked by the front I remember thinking what a jerk leaving all the space in front to almost make the 2 spots 1, but didn’t give too much thought and left.
10 mins later as I returned I noticed now the two car made slight contact. A big white guy waiting there started to act aggressively, taking photos repeatedly and claimed I have bumped into his car and ruining his bumper and causing $3000 damage (I doubt the whole car worths that. Should have been a red flag but some people are just dramatic). When I try to communicate and grab my insurance card he kept trying to escalate by cursing and cutting me off and threatening to sue me (red flag 2 even IF I did hit the car, I have insurance what’s the sueing for). At the end he did ask if want to settle by cash and I said just call my insurance, let him took a picture of my DL and insurance card and left.
2 minutes later I realized this was a scam. The person probably parked that way intentionally and waited for someone to park closely and backed up to stage the scene. Not sure if me having a new-ish car or being non-white helped boosting his confidence.
I forwarded my dashcam footage (couldn’t tell if there’s light contact and shows pre-existing damage before I parked and there’s no collision sound) to my insurance agent to warn them. Will call non-urgent line to file a police report if they even let me, and replace my DL (already have credit frozen/credit monitor long time ago).
Just want to remind everyone to take photos if you have to park closely to other cars and don’t fall for the same trap.
submitted by /u/mfcndw
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