Footage of ‘ bears ’ breaking into luxury cars in California was actually a person in a bear costume in an alleged insurance scam, police said.

In January, a security camera captured unnerving footage: what appeared to be a bear had forced its way into a Rolls Royce parked outside a home in the Southern California resort community of Lake Arrowhead, gouged the seats and thrashed the interior.

The suspects are also accused of staging fake-bear videos with two Mercedes-Benz vehicles as part of fraudulent insurance claims.

A suspected fraudster dressed up in a bear costume before damaging cars in an insurance scam in the United States.

Four friends in California devised a scheme to commit insurance fraud by using a bear costume to damage luxury cars.