Suspects allegedly dressed up as bears to carry out fake attacks on cars as part of an insurance scam. Those involved in the California scam, contacted the Department of Insurance, claiming a bear had caused damage to their Mercedes cars and sent across video footage of the “attack”. Upon further scrutiny of the video, an investigation determined the bear was a person in a bear costume. To further ensure it was not a bear in the video, the department had a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife review the three alleged bear videos and also opined it was a human in a bear suit. After executing a search warrant, detectives found the bear costume in the suspects’ home. Four people were charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy on 13 November.