WANADA has recently been letting member dealers know about a spate of auto theft and fraud cases going on throughout the region. While the recent reports don’t actually mark a significant overall increase in dealership crimes, WANADA would like to reaffirm that we are a trusted partner in loss prevention at dealerships.
We have been informed by a local department that there is a group of would-be scammers going around the region attempting to fraudulently purchase vehicles using so-called “synthetic IDs,” which are fake identification cards that use a mixed combination of real and fake information designed to pass background checks at dealerships. To date, several dozen attempted purchases have been denied, but a relatively small number have been approved; we credit that to the vigilance of local police departments and our franchised dealers’ well-trained employees.
If you believe you have been the victim of theft, fraud, or any attempts at either, please contact John O’Donnell at jod@wanada.org, in addition to reaching out to your local police department.
At this link, you will find a list of auto-theft division contacts at several police departments around the region. This list is being updated on an ongoing basis.
In addition, FraudFighter is offering WANADA membership discounts on their identification authorization software. Click here for more information on their technology (and their tracking software), and you can also view pricing for both individual orders and bulk shipments.
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