L.A. SPEAK

In Southern California, auto insurance fraud occurs at a rate four times the national average, according to a recent study by the National Insurance Crime Bureau. A whole new language has evolved to describe the scams.

capper: n . A person who approaches accident victims at the scene of a crash and offers to represent them if they pretend to be injured. “A woman in Downey was arrested for teaching cappers how to drum up business.”

f-mill or fraud mill: n. Illicit businesses, usually a medical practice and a law firm, that band together for the sole purpose of insurance fraud. “Despite his flawless reputation, the physician was part of a million-dollar f-mill. “

laundered car: n. A stolen car with a legal-appearing title. “After a trip through a chop shop, the laundered car was sold through the classifieds.”

owner give-up or O.G.U.: n. A car that the owner has arranged to have stolen to collect on the insurance policy. “He made enough on his O.G.U.’s to spend six months in Hawaii.”

paper accidents: n. Staged collisions that generate fake insurance claims. “Paper accidents cost honest policyholders $17.5 billion a year, a recent study found.”

script crash or s-crash: n. A faked accident in which all parties involved are acting from a rehearsed script.

swing shop: n. A place where stolen cars are disassembled and the parts are interchanged so the cars can be sold in used-car lots. “She bought a cheap swing shop Porsche.”

swoop and squat: n. When a driver cuts in front of an unsuspecting motorist (the swoop) and slams on the brakes (the squat), causing a rear-end collision. “In swoop and squats it’s hard to prove insurance fraud.”

VIN switch: n. When a car is purchased at a salvage or junk yard and its vehicle identification number is removed and put on a stolen car.