DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. – Residents across Duval County are being told to stay on the lookout for crooks going door to door pointing out cracks on resident's car windshields and then asking those residents for their car insurance information.
It's known as the windshield repair scam and it was pointed out to News4Jax by several viewers who called the newsroom and shared on the News4Jax Facebook page warning other residents.
"He said he was inspecting people's windshields for cracks and stuff from the construction on 295. There was nothing specific but he was pointing them out saying, "Yeah, you got a little something here,'" Jesse, who asked not to have his last name used, said.
Jesse is just one victim who said the man was knocking on doors off of 103rd Street and she said the man had no credentials and tried to pressure her for her insurance information.
"He was trying to find out if I had full coverage or not," Jesse said.
That's because, according to the Coalition against Insurance Fraud, there are a couple ways the scam can work.
According to the coalition, scammers will convince drivers to replace perfectly good windshield and then lie to the insurance company about unnecessary damages and repairs.
Or crooks will see that a windshield has a nick in it and lie to the insurance company saying that several costly repairs are needed when the windshield could have been repaired at little cost.
In some instances, if given your insurance information, some con artists will charge a victim's auto policy for several damages without the victim being aware of it.
Fortunately Jesse did not give out her information, an action also recommended by News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said.
"If you do have a damaged windshield you should contact your insurance company first, and only go with a vendor that your insurance company recommends. Otherwise the insurance company may not even pay for it if you go out and get it done on your own," Smith said.