If you guessed ‘Identity Theft,’ you’re correct! The Federal Trade Commission has reported that identity theft has been ranked as the number one consumer-related crime in the United States for the past twelve years. My experience serving dealerships has made me privy to countless horror stories about dealerships being tricked by fraudulent customers posing under the identity of someone else. This activity can end up costing dealers thousands of dollars.
However, thanks to innovative technology, dealers are able to fight back. One dealership used their electronic identity verification tool to identify a fraudulent customer who used a deceased person’s social security number while attempting to purchase a vehicle. The dealer alerted the compliance director, who then contacted local law enforcement. Within minutes, law enforcement arrived and apprehended the suspect, who was part of an identity theft ring in the local market.
Does your dealership utilize any tools that can verify and authenticate your customer’s identity? If not, please contact RouteOne for a demonstration of our ‘IDOne ’identity verification product, which also includes an Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) check. Many RouteOne dealerships use IDOne as their number one form of defense against identity theft. We encourage you to try it as well!
https://www.routeone.net/marketingmessage/docs/R1_IDOne.pdf
http://www.examiner.com/article/identity-theft-fastest-growing-crime-america
http://wardsauto.com/news-amp-analysis/auto-dealership-systems-vulnerable-hack-attacks