Dealerspan News

Dealerspan is 1st to market with Red Flag Compliance Package

BILLINGS, MT., July 1, 2008, -- FTC's Red Flags Rule requires every U.S. auto dealer to develop, implement, and maintain a written, comprehensive identity (ID) theft prevention program that specifically outlines the dealership's plan to detect, prevent and mitigate identity theft. This Red Flag regulation applies to every auto dealer - regardless of size - and must be in place by November 1, 2008.

The actual identity thief is way ahead of the November deadline, as Steve Zabawa, owner of Rimrock Auto Group in Billings, Montana can attest. He paid $80,000 in ID theft claims; “pay now or pay later,” Zabawa simply stated. Now equipped with “Red Flag Complete” provided by Dealerspan Zabawa said this about the program “If I would have had this program in place this costly identity theft would have been avoided. This application helps my dealership be proactive when dealing with sensitive data.” He added, “By preventing just one incident, you will save thousands and thousands of dollars.”

Steve also recommends posting signs and/or certificates that your dealership is Red Flag compliant to deter employees and provide consumers the confidence that they have chosen the right dealership. He compares “Red Flag Complete” to an anti-virus program, noting it’s a best practice for protecting your business.

Dealerspan’s “Red Flag Complete” is the first and only on-site full compliance package specifically designed to address the needs of auto dealers.

Unlike other “ID theft” solutions, Dealerspan’s “Red Flag Complete” was created by a team of professionals with over 30 years of dealership experience. Matt Hall, Director of Sales & Marketing, is spearheading the effort to “simplify what dealerships do, through technology.” He notes this software comes from the unique perspective obtained by sitting in every chair in the dealership. And it is addressing some of the toughest aspects of compliance:

• Automating training of F&I and sales staff

• Improving dealership knowledge base with informative data to assist the staff in detecting Red Flags in their dealership.

• Automating the process of developing the required Identity Theft Prevention Program.

Customers have come to see it as a value-added service. Matt also notes, “Our greatest fear as consumers is for someone to get our personal information. It’s essential for dealers to have business systems, protocols, and procedures in place – like doing business online with a trusted name like Dealerspan.” He noted that it is common practice to have your lot secured every night to deter vehicle theft; why not take the same diligence in knowing your customer and deterring identity theft?

The goal is to prevent identity theft from occurring, as well as protect the dealerships bottom-line. For example:

• Identity theft claims go up, meaning Property and Causality insurance costs go up

• If several claims are logged, dealerships run the risk of losing their insurance.

What this means is that you can’t afford not to comply with the Red Flags Rule. Putting off this important Federally Mandated Regulation is like playing Russian Rolette with a six shooter with 5 bullets in it. That is not very good odds.

Red Flag Complete is a full compliance package, including risk assessment and analysis, policy generation and acceptance, incident tracking, employee video training and testing, and more. The Red Flag Complete plan gets businesses up to speed with federal regulations and assists in providing a safe level of operation when dealing with customer information.

Implementation of the product, including training of staff, takes three to six weeks. Red Flag Complete was developed with the assistance of Hudson Cook, LLP, so Dealerspan has benefited from the expertise of Michael Benoit, a nationally recognized speaker and author of compliance issues for financial institutions and the automotive world.

About Dealerspan (www.dealerspan.com)

Dealerspan, LLC. is a leader in software development for the automotive industry. Our solutions enable dealers to operate their dealership(s) more effectively, and provide a training and compliance center for the dealership(s) to assist in maintaining compliance to the Red Flags Rule and other important federal regulations.