‘That's Exactly Why:' Florida Driver Gets Stuck Behind Toyota That Won't Turn on Green Light. She Says It's an Insurance Scam
Snooks (
@babysnooks
) posted a TikTok showing footage of the purported hoax. Numerous commenters agreed with her evaluation of the incident. They believe the driver was, in fact, trying to ensnare her into a staged collision.
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Snooks's video begins with her at a stop behind a metallic brown Toyota RAV4. The rear of the vehicle has sustained some visible impact, as its hatch is crumpled inward. Although the light is green, the RAV4 remains motionless, its right turn signal blinking intermittently.
She writes in a text overlay of her video, 'In case you wonder what it's like driving in Tampa.'
She isn't just calling out poor driving habits. Snooks believes she caught the RAV4 driver attempting to frame her for an accident.
'Here's another insurance scam,' she pens. She honks at the car, but it remains motionless.
After sounding her horn several times, she leans on the steering wheel, emitting a constant stream of noise at the RAV4.
She can be heard laughing as she continues to record.
'I don't care,' Snooks says as her video comes to a close.
Her TikTok has accrued over 708,000 views as of this writing.
Florida: Scam Central
Gulf Live
reported in October 2024 that the Sunshine State is a hotbed for con jobs. The outlet cited statistics gathered by
Investor Loss Center
, which placed the state as 'the country's ultimate frontier of fraud.'
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According to data, there were 1,020 reports of scams for every 100,000 residents. The most common cases of fraudulent activity were rooted in what the website referred to as 'impostor' scams.
There are other types of dubious claims made by Floridians as well.
Florida Daily
writes that the area has only seen a rise in 'staged accidents' throughout 2024, too.
Mike Friedlander, a rep for the Insurance Information Institute, told the outlet that 'unscrupulous actors are increasingly capitalizing on busy roadways.' He added that they're staging 'collisions and cash in on insurance payouts, particularly in high-traffic states.'
These false reports aren't just affecting insurance companies. They're impacting drivers as well. Friedlander purportedly said consumers are paying between $100 and $300 extra in annual premiums due to such scams.
The same article said that Florida's increase in auto insurance fraud and subsequent premium upticks are second only to New York and California.
Florida Daily
quoted Friedlander as saying that multiple entities often work together in order to extricate money from insurance companies and the drivers they cover.
'These criminals are also working in collaboration with unscrupulous medical professionals,' Friedlander remarked. He said injury clinics and attorneys are often in on the con.
He said these fraudulent reports amount to expenditures of around $20 billion every year.
Common Collision Scams
The
Department of Motor Vehicles
posted a list of staged accidents that con artists routinely try to lure unsuspecting drivers into.
One known as the 'swoop and stop' involves multiple vehicles.
'A car will suddenly pull in front of yours and stop,' the DMV writes. 'Another vehicle will simultaneously pull up alongside your car, preventing you from swerving to avoid an accident.'
The DMV also says people will brake-check drivers behind them in an attempt to get rear-ended.
Scammers may also try to T-Bone your car at an intersection while phony witnesses known as "shady helpers" are in the area, the DMV reports. These witnesses will pretend to be helpers and report to officers that you were the one at fault for the accident.
The DMV additionally writes that sometimes drivers will wait in front of you and then wave you around. Then, when you attempt to pass them in the same lane, they accelerate. When the cops show up, the driver will deny ever waving you ahead and try to pin the accident on you, the DMV warns.
The DMV suggests immediately notifying the police in the event of an accident and gathering as much information about the other driver, damage, and conditions. Get their driver's license number, vehicle registration info, car insurance provider, and name, address, and phone number. It may be a good idea to get their general height, weight, and ethnicity. And take pictures of the damage on both vehicles along with multiple angles of the scene.
The DMV further recommends never settling accidents outside of insurance.
'Don't ever settle on site with cash; always report the accident to your car insurance company, and let them know if you suspect a scam,' it writes.
Experts advise that one of the best tools for combatting insurance scams is a dashboard camera, particularly one that records multiple angles.
If you have to go to court to dispute false claims made by a scammer, video and audio can provide potentially indisputable evidence to counter their lies.
Capitalizing on Road Rage
Numerous folks who responded to Snooks' video believed the driver in front of her was indeed attempting insurance fraud.
'That's exactly why their car looks like that,' one TikToker penned.
Another wrote, 'Yall must not live in bigger cities here in Florida. This is 1000% someone trying to rage bait people behind them to then possibly get money from their insurance. Very common.'
Someone else who said they also live in Tampa relayed that this type of behavior is par for the course for accident scammers.
'If you aren't from Tampa you don't get an opinion,' they said. 'That is an insurance scam and it's clear. No one knows how to [expletive] drive here.'
This TikToker echoed the aforementioned sentiment, penning, 'If you live in Tampa and don't drive with a dash cam you're risking it.'
Motor1
has reached out to Snooks via TikTok comment for further information. We'll update this article if she responds.
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