I recently reviewed an identity theft case. Here’s the horror story showing how crafty the thieves are getting.

The victim and thief were from out of state. The dealer verified the victim’s address before sending the document package with an overnight service.

A few days later, the documents were returned and the dealership arranged to transport the vehicle, listing the victim’s address as the delivery destination.

A few months later, the irate victim called the dealership and is threatening a lawsuit. To the best of our knowledge, the SUV is on its way to China.

Further investigation revealed two newer wrinkles to the thieves’ game plan. First, the thief called the overnight service with the routing number provided by the dealer and had the package re-routed to a new address for delivery. The overnight service did not notify the dealer of the re-route request.

Second, the thief called the delivery driver while he was enroute and diverted the driver to the parking lot next to the apartment complex where the victim lived. The driver obliged, and again, the dealer was not alerted to the change.

As you are aware, the Red Flags Rule requires that you constantly review your program to address new threats of identity theft. These new wrinkles should be added to your Out of Area Delivery policy as a part of your overall Red Flags Policy.

  1. Call your overnight service provider and request that a note be put on your account that re-routes or re-directs are not permitted.
  2. Require an adult signature on the documents package you send out.
  3. Consider using a signing service to handle the out of area close. The fee seems small in light of the potential risk.
  4. Specifically include in your transport contract that you are to be notified if the driver is asked to change delivery locations.

If you would like a sample Out of Area Delivery policy, just let me know.

Continued good luck and good selling.

Contact Information:
Email:  gil@gvo3.com
Phone: (312) 961-9065