Has your identity ever been stolen? Maybe even without your knowledge? Well, nowadays at a time when many businesses are conducted online, even auto dealerships become prey to such bad guys. This could also involve a lot of money and you can be one of their victims. Read on to know what these scammers are doing and what auto dealers could do about it.
Phishing Attempts On Consumers
Doing transactions online isn’t going to go away anytime soon and scammers have seen this opportunity to broaden their target. Nowadays, they are also focusing on the automotive industry. The main concern of lenders is the vulnerability of their newer clients to phishing attempts. Plus other fraudulent activities involving the loans. Scammers could try to offer consumers to wash their credit. Some are also getting personal information from consumers by posing as contract tracers. Fraud and identity theft aren’t really new problems but with the COVID-19 environment, we are reminded that scammers are using the situation for their benefit.
What Are The Scammers Doing?
These criminals use their knowledge in technology in hacking businesses as well as fooling the consumers. One of the things that they are doing is to try to remove loans or credit-related products from one’s credit reports. Another one is to create false identities simply by combining both fake and factual identities that they have gathered.
Many people are targeted and some don’t even recognize that they have already fallen victim to such schemes. Some are also not comfortable admitting that they have been fooled.
Auto Lenders Are On High Alert
Due to such fraudulent attempts, auto lenders are on high alert. There are long-term consequences should someone fall prey to these scammers. The credit ratings could be compromised. It would take a lot of correcting when the scammers successfully create multiple accounts due to the stolen information.
Consumers are already facing lots of financial problems on their own today. There are job losses, economic shutdowns and the bills won’t simply stop. With their credit rating possibly ruined, it could be much more difficult for them to rebuild themselves up. This could make it more impossible for them to have their auto loans approved. Such acts do not only affect lenders but they directly affect consumers as well.
What Dealers Can Do
The best thing that dealers can do is remain cautious and aware that such problems could exist. They should make sure their online protection is properly set, monitored, and maintained. Dealers may be seeing positive results as they tap into the online market but they should remember not to let their guard down. Dealers shouldn’t only set protection but also warn their customers about such scams. Working together is the best protection against the new breed of tech-savvy criminals.
