LA ‘Bandit' Tow Trucks Target Crash Victims, Deputies Warn

A tow truck with no company name, no logo, and a registration that expired back in 2014 rolled up near La Brea Avenue and Fountain Avenue in West Hollywood, and deputies say it's a textbook example of a predatory practice authorities are calling out across Los Angeles. LAPD believes likely hundreds of so-called bandit tow truck companies are currently operating across the city, preying on drivers at their most vulnerable moment: right after a crash. The West Hollywood stop, detailed by the New York Post, turned up more than an outdated registration sticker. Deputies found the driver carrying a police scanner, and the suspect was arrested for illegal towing and possession of a police scanner, according to the outlet. The LASD West Hollywood Station warned that drivers should use only tow companies recommended by their insurer or by a responding deputy, and the station's statement said bandit operators use police scanners to monitor emergency communications so they can race legitimate tow companies to crash scenes. That tactic is central to how these operations work. Bandit tow truck operators prowl crash scenes across Los Angeles, and per the Post's reporting, they specifically target busy freeways and major intersections where wrecks frequently occur, including the I-5, I-10, I-405 and US-101. Out-of-state drivers are potentially less familiar with local towing rules and easier to deceive during a crash, and the same reporting notes that rental cars and tourists are frequent targets as well. Once a bandit operator reaches a scene ahead of a legitimate tow company, a driver at the scene solicited a motorist directly, according to police cited by the Post. A Southern California woman said a tow-truck driver scammed her out of thousands of dollars, one of several accounts the outlet gathered from drivers caught up in the practice. Bandit tow operators may also transport vehicles from one county to another area or to a hidden yard, making recovery far harder once a car is gone. Legitimate tow operators are required to display a company name and permit number, which the sheriff's station points to as one of the simplest ways for drivers to tell the difference in the chaos of a crash scene. The stopped truck in West Hollywood, by contrast, had no company name or logo at all — a detail deputies flagged as a red flag on its own, separate from the expired registration. The California Bureau of Automotive Repair has already shut down local auto body shops, including LA Custom Collision, over alleged partnerships with illegal tow trucks, according to the Post's reporting. That mirrors a broader regulatory pattern: state records show BAR revoked the registration of Airport Collision RPR & Tow, Inc. in Inglewood in October 2024 after investigators found the shop colluded with tow drivers to divert collision vehicles, perform unauthorized teardowns, and hold cars for noncompliant storage fees, according to the California Bureau of Automotive Repair. The agency took similar action against Mid Valley Automotive in Van Nuys the same month, finding that shop accepted crash vehicles from tow trucks, issued blank estimates, and refused to release cars without unauthorized gate and administrative charges. California Assembly Bill 1263, signed into law on October 10, 2023, gave BAR expanded power to crack down on illegal towing storage fees and predatory rings, per the Post. New rules tied to that effort took effect July 1, 2025, requiring repair shops to generate a separate, stand-alone invoice for any towing charges with explicit customer authorization, according to ComplyAuto — a change aimed at the practice of hiding unauthorized tow fees inside general repair estimates. Still, as the Post's reporting makes clear, new laws have not stopped alleged bandit operators from appearing wherever vulnerable drivers are unprepared to resist them. The California Highway Patrol has launched joint task forces with local police departments to raid predatory towing yards across Southern California, the Post reports. A commercial enforcement unit conducted an operation targeting predator and bandit tow operators in South Los Angeles in October 2024. In Los Angeles proper, municipal collision and impound towing is restricted to 17 contracted Official Police Garages overseen by the LAPD Police Commission's CID OPG Section, according to LAPD — the same unit tasked with investigating complaints against non-permitted operators. Under California Vehicle Code § 22513, it is a misdemeanor for any tow operator to stop at an accident scene to solicit business unless explicitly requested by the vehicle owner, an insurance provider, or a responding law enforcement officer, according to legal resource FindLaw. That statute exists specifically to stop so-called wreck chasers from taking advantage of disoriented drivers moments after a collision — which is why drivers should not allow an unrequested tow truck to take their vehicle, per the Post's reporting. The stakes for operators who ignore that line can go well beyond a misdemeanor. Taking a vehicle overnight via an unauthorized tow truck without owner consent or valid impound authority can be prosecuted as felony grand theft auto under California Penal Code § 487(d)(1), which carries potential state prison terms of 16 months, two years, or three years, Hoodline reported in its coverage of a Woodland Hills tow truck theft chase. That earlier case detailed LAPD and CHP recovering more than 140 illegally impounded vehicles in Van Nuys in July 2025. Drivers who do get their vehicle hooked up on private property have protections too. Under California Vehicle Code § 22658(h), if an owner returns while a tow operator is mid-hookup for a parking violation, the operator must release the vehicle immediately for no more than half the regular towing fee, according to the City of San Diego. Hoodline previously covered a Glendale driver who tested that exact rule when a Porsche owner fled a hookup and lost his bumper in the process. Nationally, the numbers behind this trend keep climbing. The National Insurance Crime Bureau reported predatory towing and affiliated insurance fraud claims increased 89% nationally over a three-year period leading into late 2025, and separate NICB research published in 2026 found operators inflating total vehicle bills to between $10,000 and $16,000 through vague administrative, gate, transfer, and hazmat fees. For now, the guidance from West Hollywood deputies remains the simplest defense: stick with a tow company recommended by an insurer or a responding officer, and never let an uninvited truck haul a car away.