Setting up on the road: how drivers are deceived by road accidents
A gang of car dealers was detained in the Moscow region, who caused at least six accidents and illegally received insurance payments. During the year, the accomplices "earned" more than 2 million rubles. Izvestia found out the details of the criminal scheme and ways to protect against fraudsters on the roads.
Gang detention
A gang of car dealers who deliberately created emergency situations and then illegally received insurance payments was detained in the Moscow region. This was stated by the official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia Irina Volk.
According to her, the scammers have been operating in Mytishchi since 2024 and have caused at least six accidents. They chose roundabouts, then, at the exit from the road, they caught up with heavy trucks in a passenger car and drove into their blind spot. After that, the previously damaged car was put under the impact of a truck. Thus, the accomplices managed to get more than 2 million rubles from the insurers.
In two cases, the money was not paid for reasons beyond the control of the conspirators. In total, the group consisted of five people, all of them were arrested, Irina Volk noted.
"The investigator of the investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the city of Mytishchi initiated six criminal cases on the grounds of a crime under Articles 30, 159.5 and 159.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which are combined into one proceeding. The defendants have been taken into custody," Irina Volk said.
Avtopodstava — classic fraud
Lawyers call fake accidents involving heavy trucks and roundabouts a classic of insurance fraud. The most high-profile criminal cases are connected with them: for example, in Moscow last year, the trial of three accomplices began, who provoked more than 300 accidents with damage amounting to hundreds of millions of rubles.
According to the case file, many of them featured a used 2007 Bentley. He drove into roundabouts, pulled in next to a turning truck, and then cut it off so that the second driver simply couldn't avoid a collision. As a rule, accomplices managed to sue their victims from 300 thousand to 2 million rubles.
In each case, the Bentley was driven by the same person — a 29-year-old Muscovite who worked as an assistant lawyer specializing in insurance law. Sometimes, instead of him, a gray Nissan with another person involved at the wheel participated in an accident.
In total, according to Izvestia, there were about 10 cars in their fleet. The exact amount of damage is being determined by the investigation, and the accomplices face up to 10 years in prison.
According to lawyer Valentin Petryuk, such schemes are quite common and cause serious damage to insurance companies. According to the All—Russian Union of Insurers (VSS), last year companies paid at least 3 billion rubles to fraudsters - and most of the payments came from auto insurance.
Evolution of schemes
Insurance fraud was singled out in a separate article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation back in 2012 — this was a reaction to the increased staging and overstatement of amounts in insurance cases, lawyer Sean Betrozov explains to Izvestia. Later, the Supreme Court clarified that staging an accident to receive a payment is a typical crime under the insurance fraud article.
— Since 2018, the development of digital technologies has significantly affected the settlement process: through mobile applications and photo recording according to the European protocol, it has become possible to receive up to 400 thousand rubles if the participants in the accident have no disagreements and the circumstances are recorded correctly. This is convenient for respectable drivers, but, unfortunately, fraudsters also use it, trying to arrange registration remotely," the lawyer notes.
In 2025, the Bank of Russia confirmed the current payment limits: 400 thousand rubles for photofixation without disputes, 100 thousand rubles for photofixation and 200 thousand rubles for disputes.
At the same time, in September 2024, the Russian Union of Motor Insurers discontinued support for the old application "Accident. Europrotocol", shifting the focus to the tools of Gosuslugi Avto and alternative channels of fixation.
— All these changes have influenced the tactics of scammers. In practice, today, simple "undercuts" and sudden braking are giving way to more sophisticated scenarios. For example, schemes with right-hand drive Japanese cars are popular, where expensive spare parts can overestimate the damage calculation. At roundabouts, fraudsters adjust to the violation of the exit from the left lane, and in parking lots they simulate "slippery" contacts in reverse. Often, a civil lawsuit is added to the scheme against the "culprit" in order to recover amounts not covered by CTP, says Sean Betrozov.
In addition, the channels of work have also changed, the expert clarifies. Pseudo-lawyers who buy out the rights of claim for the assignment, as well as online "assistants" who aggressively accompany the "victim" and direct the registration in the direction they need.
Insurers respond by strengthening anti-fraud analytics, verifying tracks, tachographs, video recordings, and quickly exchanging data on duplicate VIN numbers of cars, phones, and participants' identities.
Difficulties of disclosure
Car scams have a dual purpose. Firstly, they are deceiving the insurance company, from which they want to receive payment as quickly as possible and with the maximum amount of repairs. Secondly, the second driver or the owner of the vehicle is being deceived: they are trying to write him down as "guilty" in order to then recover money in excess of the CTP limits through lawsuits, including against truck—owning companies.
— The favorite "targets" are beginners with up to several years of experience, drivers without video recorders, taxi services and commercial vehicles, which by their design have blind spots and complex exit trajectories, — says Betrozov. — At the same time, not only financial danger arises for the victim: her risks under the CBM (bonus-malus coefficient) and, accordingly, the cost of the policy increase. There are court costs, and independent claims for accidents from fraudsters are possible. In difficult cases, people agree to unfavorable concessions and pseudo-legal assistance from intermediaries, losing the chances of an objective trial.
Lawyer Valentin Petryuk emphasizes that such crimes still have a low detection rate. This is due to the lack of law enforcement officers and their poor interaction with insurance companies, which could also provide assistance and share their information.
— To protect against such cases, insurance companies conduct automotive technical examinations. They also hire special experts who analyze the circumstances of the accident, including with the help of AI. But now we see how such schemes are moving from the central regions to the periphery of the country.: There are fewer cameras that can record auto—shutters," the lawyer says.
The State Duma has already proposed to combat the phenomenon: in June, deputies and senators from the Liberal Democratic Party introduced a bill on punishing the organization of car parking. The initiators proposed to establish a punishment for such criminals in the form of imprisonment for up to four years. If a crime is committed by a group of persons by prior agreement or with the infliction of serious harm to the victim's health, the term may be up to seven years.
One of the authors, Yaroslav Nilov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans' Affairs, explained that existing norms do not allow such criminals to be adequately punished, as they are being prosecuted under the article on fraud. However, according to the authors of the project, such actions go beyond the usual fraud, as they involve extortion of money, threats, violation of traffic rules and damage to victims' cars.
Ways to protect against auto-theft
In order to protect themselves from fraudsters, lawyers advise drivers to remain calm in case of accidents and always record the facts: take down general plans, brake marks, road markings, damage to both cars, road signs and surveillance cameras. You should also turn on the video recording on your phone and say out loud the important points: place, time, who is driving, visible damage. If the other party is in a hurry to sign the papers, puts pressure on morally or offers to solve everything on the spot, this is a good reason to call an inspector and refuse to quickly register according to the European protocol.
— If you are still registering without the traffic police (according to the European protocol), keep in mind the limits and the need for correct photo recording. If there are disagreements, the limit will be lower than without them, so don't take on someone else's blame "for speed." Use the official channels of fixation recommended by the Bank of Russia, and do not violate the procedural deadlines," says Sean Betrozov.
After registration, he advises you to immediately notify your insurance company by submitting all photos and videos. If in doubt, it is worth getting an independent assessment, especially if the second party or intermediaries are clearly overestimating the estimate. When "assistants" appear with an offer to sell the right of claim, it is important to assess the risks: such contracts cannot always be terminated painlessly, and the true interest of the "assistant" may be radically different from yours.
— Schemes with fake accidents have not disappeared anywhere, but they have become much smarter. The law clearly qualifies such actions and provides for real deadlines, and judicial practice is increasingly confident in recognizing staging based on technical traces and digital data. An ordinary driver has two protection tools: a complete record of the circumstances of an accident and a categorical rejection of any questionable compromises "in order to save time." This is often enough to protect yourself," concludes the Izvestia interlocutor.
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