No they just put snow on the street to sell winter tires

No, this is a dumb idea.

Tires are really tough - I mean really tough these days.

The difference from even the 80's/90's to now is staggering.

I used to get flats once or twice a year, now... I don't remember the last time I put a plug in a tire.

Imagine the effort to do this, and then assuming your company would benefit.

Except a lot of tire companies have add-ons you can buy for extra money per tire (it's not even that much if I'm remembering correctly) where they'll replace the tire for free if you get a flat within a specified amount of time, unless it's something like you stuck a knife in your sidewall.

So this wouldn't benefit them at all.

it makes sense so it must be the case

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Just you, it seems. Had my first ever flat lat month since buying my car in 2012,

There are far better ways to get customers that also don't land you in jail. Like advertising.

I doubt it, in the general sense of "tire punctures generally happen because people are doing this". That being said, I do remember reading about a scam occurring in...I think it was Mexico...where something akin to this was documented and occurring, where one would drop caltrops directly in front of a targeted vehicle and have a "helpful" accomplice directing the motorist to an overpriced tire seller.

searches

Colombia.

https://www.npr.org/2025/07/27/nx-s1-5477426/flat-tire-scam-colombia-bogota

Aboard motorcycles, these vandals spread sharp objects on busy streets to damage car tires. Then, they offer to lead marooned motorists to nearby mechanics who are suspected of being in on the scam, allegedly making more holes in the tires and then overcharging for repairs.

These flimflam men are known as pinchallantas, Spanish for "tire-puncturers."

"They did it to me," says Óscar Villanueva a Bogotá architect. "A guy on a motorcycle came up to me and said: 'Your tire is low on air. You need to get it patched.' But he was the one who made the holes."

Pinchallantas have perfected the practice. Videos on social media show them weaving through traffic on motorcycles with sharp objects attached to their ankles that they release by stomping the pavement in front of cars.

An embedded nail usually creates a slow leak in a tire that may take hours to go flat. So, they often litter the roads with sharp, tube-shaped pieces of metal that cause tires to deflate immediately.

Bogotá lawyer Felipe Gallo says that because frazzled motorists are usually anxious for a quick fix so they can get back on the road, they are easily suckered into overpaying.

"When they fix the tire, they make more holes and then they say to you: 'Hey, you have four holes,'" says Gallo, who paid about $150 for a recent repair job. "For that price, I could have bought new tires." Police officers temporarily shut down a tire repair shop in Bogotá, Colombia on Tuesday. Tires fill the shelves behind them.

Pinchallantas have plagued Bogotá for years. But recently there has been a surge of citizen complaints about the practice, often numbering more than 100 per month. Reports about pinchallantas have become a staple of TV newscasts, which also warn motorists about trouble spots in Bogotá.

/smh