The tire scam is back in vogue: this is confirmed by the continuous reports of the authorities. It is a very insidious scam and it is important to understand what it consists of, how it works in order to be able to defend and prevent it.
In July, one of these scams was unsuccessful: there were three arrests in Quarto because fortunately the Carabinieri intervened and noticed the scam in progress in time, thus managing to foil it.
Generally, however, the scam of flat tires goes unpunished, so if you know it you are more likely to avoid it. It can also be put on the street, but it occurs more frequently in the parking lots of shopping centers and supermarkets.
Tire scam: what it consists of
Typically, victims are unaware of the deception and are easily robbed.
THE thieves / scammers they keep an eye on the potential victim who arrives at the supermarket, parks the car and enters to shop. Meanwhile, the thugs puncture the wheel of the car (sometimes, even more than one tire).
When the victim leaves the mall and approaches the car, he notices the damage. The scammers, at that point, take action: they kindly introduce themselves to the victim and offer to help her for changing the wheel. Most of the time, the victim falls for it and reacts with great gratitude towards the criminals by completely ignoring what they have in mind.
The thieves take the jack and start busy around the car to change the tire. It’s a good time to take advantage of it: with a lightning gesture they grab the bag and all the valuables inside the vehicle and then run away. Unfortunately, this theft technique plays on the distraction and confusion of the victims.
How to defend yourself from the flat tire scam
Especially considering the fact that these scams play on confusion and distraction of the potential victim, it is very important to be cautious, not to trust the kindness and spirit of collaboration of complete strangers who are friendly and willing to waste time to solve our problems. This does not mean that we no longer have to trust our neighbor at 360 degrees, but we pay particular attention to ‘where’ the scams usually take place.
Generally, the field of action of thieves is concentrated in the parking lots of supermarkets but we must also pay attention to parking lots of any kind. It can happen too on the road or in other places.
Since the tire scam (and other scams such as the plastic bottle scam) is circulating more and more frequently, it is preferable react with suspicion and caution in front of those who are almost in a hurry to make themselves useful. Whoever does it by himself makes up for three and protects his possessions from thieves.
