one time, i worked as a telemarketer for a construction company. my boss was this shady character named jeff who used to be a stockbroker until... well, he never explained that. all i know is, he never had less than $1,000 on him, and his driver's license bore a different last name than what was on his desk, and what was on his driver's license, and what was on his bank book (i'm a nosy guy).
on my break one day, jeff and i began discussing insurance fraud. it was then that i learned what he called a "brake job" was. i'll explain it as it was explained to me.
find a complete stranger at a bar. get to know him/her. work in the topic of making some quick cash. plan to meet in a parking lot, give a signal, then have this stranger follow you in pursuit of an expensive looking car. find one, then follow it until you get to a two lane road. ride his ass until he gets into the right lane. the stranger will then pull up alongside him on the left and match his speed. you get in front of him. now, slam on your brakes; hard and fast. the guy/gal driving the expensive car can now choose between swerving off the road, swerving into your stranger friend, or smashing into your rear end. usually, one of the last two will happen and then you split the insurance money somehow. jeff left this important detail out. but judging from the amount of money he always had and his many aliases, i assume he had already figured out that part.