Someone tried to scam my son tonight

[CarLuver]

my son calls me and tells me what happened tonight. Him and GF are at a mall. they leave the mall heading home and he notices a car has been following him. So he drives around a little to another mall and then parks. The guy get out and say to my son that he hit his car at the mall. he tell my son that the cops are coming and they have video of it. he tries to get my son to admit he did it . my son tells him no way did he hit his car and will call the cops . after that statement the guy hops in his car and leaves .

So what is the angle here? was he trying to get a cash payment right there for damages? if my son was stupid enough to admit to it, would he try to claim insurance? My son is pretty honest with me and if he did it he would tell me.

i told my son next time to drive to a police station. i think he targeted them because they were young

 

[Dave Hess]

He should have called 911 while headed to police station.

 

[OilUzer]

If he really hit a car, the other guy would not leave! They wanted to scare him and collect $20 or $50 and move on to buy more weed or the fancier stuff they smoke these days.

Bunch of lazy people who don't want to work. I see city signs begging for landscaping work for $26/hr. Every job offer I see is near $30/hr and no education required but the scam artists like to live in their mom's basements and play video games all night. lol and once in a while a CAT converter will help the finances!

 

[Lubener]

Not very smart to stop at another mall to allow the individual to confront him.. He should have driven to the police station.

 

[joekingcorvette]

He should have drove directly to the police station and waited to see if the guy would continue to follow him. Keep the doors locked all the time and act like you are talking on the cell phone which might scare the idiot right then and there.

 

[cptbarkey]

my son calls me and tells me what happened tonight. Him and GF are at a mall. they leave the mall heading home and he notices a car has been following him. So he drives around a little to another mall and then parks. The guy get out and say to my son that he hit his car at the mall. he tell my son that the cops are coming and they have video of it. he tries to get my son to admit he did it . my son tells him no way did he hit his car and will call the cops . after that statement the guy hops in his car and leaves .

So what is the angle here? was he trying to get a cash payment right there for damages? if my son was stupid enough to admit to it, would he try to claim insurance? My son is pretty honest with me and if he did it he would tell me.

i told my son next time to drive to a police station. i think he targeted them because they were young

Who knows, more likely mental illness. Glad your son and girlfriend are ok.

 

[skyactiv]

Try that in a small town

 

[97K15004WD]

Try that in a small town

IBTL

 

[oil pan 4]

Try that in a small town

Following someonehome from the store to cause trouble is a great way to end up getting fed to pigs round here.

 

[NiwradND]

Try that in a small town

See how far you make it down the road around here!

 

[DwightFrye]

I often see "drive to the nearest police station" mentioned in threads discussing potentially hazardous situations.
But how many people really know where the nearest police station is ? It's not something that you want to be looking up on your phone or navigation device if in a potentially dangerous situation. I know where the closest Sheriff's substations are and either one is about 20 miles away. So that isn't a viable option in my community. Where any police stations are in neighboring towns are is a different story. I have no clue.

In any case the OP's son at least went to a public place where presumably there would be witnesses and security cameras if the scammer tried to pull anything. It could have been worse, it could have been a hijacking. Certainly one should never pull over on the side of the road if they are being followed or suspect something is amiss.

 

[PimTac]

I often see "drive to the nearest police station" mentioned in threads discussing potentially hazardous situations.
But how many people really know where the nearest police station is ?

Fire stations are another option. One thing for sure, don’t drive home.

 

[Lubener]

Jim Rockford could have lost that follower.

 

[brianl703]

I often see "drive to the nearest police station" mentioned in threads discussing potentially hazardous situations.

When I worked for a city doing IT work, the police station was usually a ghost town after hours, with the only people in the building besides me being the 911 dispatchers.

 

[brianl703]

Fire stations are another option.

Just hope they aren't on a call.

 

[Pablo]

Those clowns eventually try that garbage on the wrong person…

 

[TomYoung]

Who knows, more likely mental illness. Glad your son and girlfriend are ok.

It's not mental illness. It's a known scam designed to victimize the old, young, vulnerable. It is all about getting money out of the victim.

 

[64bawagon]

Fire stations are another option. One thing for sure, don’t drive home.

The only time youll find cops at a fire station is around dinner time, ask me how I know

 

[Pablo]

The only time youll find cops at a fire station is around dinner time, ask me how I know

We have firemen and policemen in our church men's group. I know. I know who cooks better!!

 

[4WD]

I’m in a town of 12k … Police, Fire, and EMS is one new complex …
The SD is not located there but are provided a bit of space since they are in the next small town (county seat) …