Moped 'crash for cash' scammers targeting innocent drivers as insurers uncover millions in fraud
The Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department has investigated more than £25.3 million in suspected fraud over the past five years, with around three-quarters involving deliberately staged crashes.
Moped riders are deliberately crashing into cars in organised "crash for cash" scams, as insurers warn the fraud is becoming increasingly sophisticated.
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The scams see riders engineer collisions with unsuspecting motorists before making fraudulent claims for damage or injuries.
LBC has uncovered evidence of thousands of these cases in the past 18 months, amounting to at least £35 million in suspected fraud.
James Sleigh says he was targeted while pulling out of a side road in Ealing, West London, when a moped rider intentionally accelerated towards him.
Footage shows the rider falling from his bike before immediately confronting James and blaming him for the collision.
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“As I pulled out quite slowly from the right-hand side of the road to go forwards, a motorbike screamed past me at a rate of knots and fell off his bike in front of me,” James recalled.
The rider then threw his arms in the air and pointed to damage on his moped, telling James: “Look at this, it’s got a crack in my mudguard. This is all your fault.”
“My initial reaction was that it had been my fault, that I had pulled out without realising he was there,” James explained. “The more I thought about it, I realised I did not see him... he was hiding behind another car, waiting for me to pull out.”
James’ daughter immediately suspected a scam, and his concerns grew when the rider insisted on taking the moped to a garage for a repair quote.
“I thought, hang on a minute, he knows where the garage is and wants to go there straight away.”
Later that evening, James received a call from someone claiming to be from an insurance company, but did not answer.
James’ insurer, Allianz, told him it believed the incident was one of the clearest examples of an induced accident it had seen. It declined the claim, leaving the moped driver to pursue any further action through the courts.
“I suspect this guy has done this on various occasions and probably got some cash out of unsuspecting people. I think there are various gangs… perhaps four or five people working together.
“You’ve got to be pretty strong-minded and just say, ‘Look, this wasn’t my fault. You’ve deliberately done this.’ Never admit liability, whatever you do.”
The scale of the fraud is significant. Allianz is currently investigating 75 fraud operations involving more than 1,000 linked claims worth over £7.5 million.
The UK’s leading motor insurer, Aviva, told LBC it detected 1,241 ‘crash for cash’ claims in 2025, preventing £28.4 million in fraud. A further 1,823 suspected claims are currently under investigation.
Allianz’s Head of Financial Crime Intelligence and Investigations, Matt Crabtree, described the fraudster in James’ case as “shameless”.
“You can see in the video, the rider falls down, straight away jumps up and he’s flailing his arms around. He’s creating fear to make [James] feel like he’s done something wrong.
“Riders can often be quite aggressive and intimidating. All they’re looking to do is create the incident, get the details, and move on so they can pursue their fraudulent compensation.”
Matt said Allianz has seen a rise in ‘crash for cash’ scams, with fraudsters operating as part of organised networks and using increasingly reckless tactics to maximise their profits.
“You’d have never thought someone would risk injury, and arguably their life, by deliberately driving their scooter in front of moving cars, but this is the evolution of fraud.”
The Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department has investigated more than £25.3 million in suspected fraud over the past five years, with around three-quarters involving deliberately staged crashes.
Figures from the Association of British Insurers show the scale is even broader, with 51,700 motor insurance scams worth £576 million detected in 2024 alone - accounting for 53% of all detected fraudulent general insurance claims across the industry that year.
Matt stressed that the priority for motorists who suspect they have been targeted is to get themselves and others off the road before trying to gather evidence.
“My first piece of advice is to stay safe. If the situation allows, make sure that you get some photographs of the bike and the rider.
“You see in [James’] footage the rider keeps his helmet on. Any descriptive features in this instance – clothing, tattoos, anything that you can see through the face visor that helps us identify who that person is – will allow us to work with law enforcement to get these people brought to justice.
“Anything we can do that secures that at the scene is crucial.”