碰瓷

Originally Beijing Mandarin. The trick reportedly takes its name from a scam in which unscrupulous antique sellers would rig up damaged porcelain vases to look whole, wait for customers to “break” one by picking it up, then demand that they pay for the item.

Compare Japanese 当(あ)たり屋(や) (atariya).

碰瓷

1. (originally Mainland China, colloquial) to stage a fake accident to claim for compensation, typically of a pedestrian to voluntarily throw themselves at a travelling vehicle and blackmail the driver for “injury” compensation

   • 見這名男子是有意「碰瓷」，兩名輔警立即警覺起來，迅速將情況彙報給中隊。 [MSC, trad.]
     见这名男子是有意「碰瓷」，两名辅警立即警觉起来，迅速将情况汇报给中队。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 2015 April 13, 刘姝君, 这“碰瓷的”疯了么 往警车下塞腿？！, in 《生活报》

     Jiàn zhè míng nánzǐ shì yǒuyì “pèngcí”, liǎng míng fǔjǐng lìjí jǐngjiào qǐlái, xùnsù jiāng qíngkuàng huìbào gěi zhōngduì. [Pinyin]

     Seeing that this man intended to stage a fake accident, the two auxiliary police officers were immediately on guard and quickly reported the situation to the squadron.

   • 一直以來，他們從貴州一路向北，途經湖南、湖北、江蘇、安徽、浙江，碰瓷了上百名大貨車司機。 [MSC, trad.]
     一直以来，他们从贵州一路向北，途经湖南、湖北、江苏、安徽、浙江，碰瓷了上百名大货车司机。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 2018 January 22, 方敏, 碰瓷的“戏精”没戏了, in 《人民日报》 (People's Daily)

     Yīzhí yǐlái, tāmen cóng Guìzhōu yīlù xiàng běi, tújīng Húnán, Húběi, Jiāngsū, Ānhuī, Zhèjiāng, pèngcí le shàng bǎi míng dàhuòchē sījī. [Pinyin]

     All along, they kept heading north starting from Guizhou, passing through Hunan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Anhui and Zhejiang, staging fake accidents to claim compensation from hundreds of truck drivers.