The California Department of Insurance is warning drivers about a vehicle hostage scam sweeping Southland, after the arrests of 16 residents involved in an alleged auto insurance fraud ring.

Scams involving tow truck companies targeting car accident victims where vehicles are held hostage for cash are increasing, authorities said.

Prevalent in Southern California, the Department’s Inland Empire Automobile Insurance Fraud Task Force has investigated multiple cases.

The investigation found the auto fraud ring worked together to create fraudulent insurance claims to illegally collect over $216,932.

The large-scale, organized auto insurance fraud ring was engaged in multiple types of schemes, including holding vehicles hostage and collusive collisions.

The same ring was previously charged in a similar scheme stemming from vehicles stolen under false pretenses and brought to California Collision in San Bernardino County.

One of the scams involves a tow truck arriving immediately after a collision and offering to help the driver by towing the vehicle to a body shop. The body shop then forces the driver to pay a large sum, typically not covered by insurance to get the vehicle back.

The Inland Empire Automobile Insurance Task Force began this investigation in November 2022 after they found out a California Highway Patrol non-sworn employee was unlawfully selling traffic collision report face pages containing personal information of people who had been involved in collisions throughout Southern California.

The investigating task force includes the California Department of Insurance, California Highway Patrol, San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office and the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. The State of California Franchise Tax Board also assisted with the investigation.

After the task force served numerous search warrants they seized over 3,500 traffic collision report face pages from the residence of another suspect, who the task force determined was connected to the employee through the organized ring’s ringleader.

The conspiracy began after the CHP employee was befriended by one of the suspects who donated to various CHP events and parties.

Another suspect would contact the parties involved in the collision, pretending to be from their insurance company and coordinate having their vehicle towed to a repair center that they misrepresented as approved by the insurance company.

Tow trucks, whose drivers cooperated in the scheme, were then dispatched to pick up the vehicles in Riverside County and tow them to Certified Auto in Buena Park, owned by another suspect involved in the ring.

Certified Auto would hold the vehicle hostage and demand cash payment from the insurance companies to have the vehicles released.

During the numerous search warrants, additional evidence was obtained showing the alleged ring was engaged in other types of insurance fraud schemes, including collusive collisions.

The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting this case.

“This type of scam is preying on drivers at their most vulnerable moments—immediately after an accident—when they should be focused on their safety and next steps, not fighting to get their vehicle back,” said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. “Our department is committed to protecting Californians from fraud, and this PSA is an important step in ensuring drivers know the warning signs and how to protect themselves. If you suspect you’ve been targeted, report it immediately. Together, we can put an end to these predatory practices and hold bad actors accountable.”

A few red flags to be aware of:

• A tow truck shows up within minutes of an accident.
• A tow truck driver tells you which body shop a car is going to instead of working with the driver to identify where the vehicle will go.
• A tow truck driver indicates the driver will be contacted by phone or asks for the driver’s signature on documents.
• A tow truck driver requests a rideshare for you.