Survey: RV Dealers Still Lacking Procedures for Test Drives – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – 700 Credit LLC, one of the automotive industry’s leading providers of credit reports, compliance solutions, soft pull, and identity verification products, announced results of an industry-wide survey that takes the pulse of RV dealers and their processes for securing customer data during test drives, obtaining copies of consumers drivers’ licenses, placing those copies in the deal jacket and the significant challenges RV dealers still face in multiple fraud scenarios.
The RV industry has seen significant growth over the past decade as more people seek the freedom and adventure that RV life offers. However, with this growth comes an increasing responsibility for RV dealers to protect customer data, particularly during processes like test drives and sales transactions. Dealers often collect sensitive personal information, such as driver’s licenses, often without following compliant procedures for data privacy laws.
This creates vulnerabilities not only in the form of data breaches but also in increasing incidents of synthetic ID fraud. These issues can result in lender chargebacks, which are financially and operationally problematic for RV dealerships. 700Credit commissioned an online industry-wide survey of RV dealers and the results illustrated the following key findings:
Capturing Driver’s License Data
- Only 17% of dealers are storing driver’s license copies in an electronic deal jacket, and 50% are still using paper deal jackets.
- Over 50% of dealers are either making paper copies of licenses, taking a picture of licenses with employee’s phones or having customers email copies to employees. These trends are alarming and both speak to the lack of consumer data privacy per Safeguards mandates.
Synthetic Fraud Awareness
- 67.1% of respondents are familiar with synthetic fraud, but only 25% understand how synthetic IDs are created.
- 33% of dealers are completely unfamiliar with synthetic fraud, indicating a significant knowledge gap in the industry.
Vehicle Theft
- 30.3% of dealers reported having an RV stolen due to fake identity or synthetic fraud in the past 12 months.
- 21.3% of dealers experienced RV theft due to key fob swaps within the same period.
Test Drive Security
- Only 25% of dealerships require salespeople to accompany customers on all test drives (another 32% said they “sometimes” accompany on test drives).
- 27.6% do not require accompaniment, leaving potential security vulnerabilities.
Identity Verification Practices
- 26.3% of dealers still rely on simple photocopies of driver’s licenses for test drives.
- Only 4% validate driver’s licenses against DMV databases, the most secure method available.
Financial Impact
- 18.4% of dealers had to buy back at least one RV from their lender due to a fraudulent loan application in the past year.
Industry Implications
These findings underscore the pressing need for enhanced security measures and fraud prevention strategies in the RV industry. The prevalence of synthetic fraud and vehicle theft highlights vulnerabilities that could lead to significant financial losses for dealers.
“The results of this survey are a wake-up call for the RV industry,” said Ken Hill, Managing Director of 700Credit. “It’s clear that many dealers are still not adequately prepared to properly manage sensitive consumer data privacy, nor are they equipped to combat sophisticated fraud techniques. We urge all RV dealers to reassess their security protocols and implement more robust identity verification systems.”
700Credit recommends that dealers invest in advanced identity verification technologies, improve staff training on fraud detection, and implement stricter drivers’ license collection procedures and test drive policies to mitigate risks.
About 700Credit
700Credit is the automotive industry’s leading provider of credit reports, compliance solutions, soft pull products, identity theft, and driver’s license authentication platforms. The company’s product and service offerings include credit reports, prescreen and pre-qualification platforms, OFAC compliance, Red Flag solutions, 2022 Safeguards protection, Synthetic Fraud Detection, Identity Verification, score disclosure notices, adverse action notices, and mobile and in-store driver’s license authentication solutions. For more information about 700Credit, visit http://www.700credit.com.
