Los Angeles authorities are warning drivers about a growing predatory towing scam targeting crash victims across the city, including Koreatown. The operators arrive without being called, often before legitimate tow trucks, and then pressure confused drivers to hand over their vehicles.
According to the LAPD and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, illegal tow truck drivers monitor police emergency radio traffic and use that information to get to accident scenes first. They then falsely claim they were sent by an insurance company or say the crash site is too dangerous and the vehicle must be moved immediately.
The Los Angeles area has hundreds of these illegal towing operations, police said, with busy freeway corridors such as the 5, 10, 405 and 101 among the main targets. Recent enforcement in the La Brea and Fountain Avenue area led to the arrest of a driver who was operating an unmarked tow truck, had an expired 2014 registration and was carrying a police scanner used to monitor emergency broadcasts.
Police say victims are often hit with fees ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. In one reported case on the 605 Freeway, a woman who was tricked by a tow operator claiming to be with her insurance company had her car taken to a body shop 20 miles away and was later billed $1,000. Authorities are urging drivers to refuse unsolicited tow trucks and to verify the company name and permit before allowing any vehicle to be moved.
