Scam artists caught on tape staging accidents

(CBS News) 

TAMPA - Security cameras capture an accident - an SUV slamming into a car. But rewind the tape, and you'll see it's no accident.

Instead, the car was driven into the middle of the street. The driver gets out, and then there's a collision. Then, five people climb into the damaged vehicle.

The passengers later claimed they had been injured - the start of a scam to rip off their car insurance company.

Ron Poindexter, the Florida director of the National Insurance Crime Bureau said, "They are organized in a ongoing criminal enterprise, racketeering -- to defraud insurance companies out of millions of dollars through an ongoing scheme."

Today 12 states have what's known as "No Fault" auto insurance. That means no matter who's at fault, everyone involved in an auto accident is entitled to insurance money if they're hurt.

To find out how the scam works, click on Armen Keteyian's report in the video above.