Category: Dealership Training

Your Next Biggest Threat: Synthetic Fraud

Post author By efgmarketing
Post date December 19, 2019

Contributing Author:
Steve Roennau
Vice President
EFG Companies

Those of us who are active on social media likely have created an “avatar” – an image designed to represent ourselves digitally. Defined specifically in computing language, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user’s alter ego or character. The avatar image says, “This is the image I want to project,” but it might be less than accurate.

Even the person actually walking into your dealership might not be who they say they are – even if they have legitimate data, like a valid social security number tied to a legitimate address, to support their claim.

Synthetic fraud is the fastest growing form of identity theft in the U.S., comprising 80% of all new account fraud. The fraudulent tactic uses a combination of real and fake personally identifiable information (PII) to create new credit profiles and pump up credit scores, allowing the criminal to access goods and services.

The most common method of synthetic fraud is professional criminals using a variety of methods to make money exploiting the systemic weaknesses of the U.S. credit system. It may involve theft of a child’s real identity and applying for an employer identification number (EIN). Then, the criminal builds a synthetic credit profile with the victim’s real name, social security number, and date of birth (DOB), with a different address or phone number. Next, the professional criminal applies for credit through mortgage refinancing or a car loan, which pulls the report from all three major U.S. credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion). While the application may be denied, the process of reviewing the application creates a new credit profile at all three bureaus (also known as “tri-merging”) with the synthetic information. A few more steps and the fraudulent profile is complete, including lines of credit, employment history, mail received, etc. And now that criminal looks legitimate on paper.

With synthetic fraud, everything may seem legitimate at first blush. For the dealer, they move a car off the lot. For the lender, they have a loan in good standing. Unfortunately, the person who was originally assigned the particular social security number has no knowledge of the loan, and may never find out until the loan defaults or fraud is uncovered.

Dealership Training

Training For Future Success

Post author By efgmarketing
Post date October 30, 2019

Contributing Author:
Glenice Wilder
Vice President
EFG Companies

The market has been showing positive signs over the past few months, with growth in both new and used bikes. Even the traditional auction houses are feeling the pinch between demand and inventory. Lenders are also looking into the powersports market with renewed interest. With this positive trend, it would be easy to sit back and relax. However, I would encourage you to take advantage of this situation and invest in your dealership. And, the first place to start is training!

Unfortunately, many powersports dealers often operate with the mindset of “Who has time for training?” I would turn that response around to say, “Who doesn’t have time for training?” Every phone call, every customer interaction, every deal jacket is an opportunity for training if you have the right mindset. Let’s consider the following value sets when thinking about the benefit of training in your dealership.

Improved employee performance – When your powersports employees receive the necessary training, they are more likely to perform their job effectively. Throwing a new employee onto the sales floor or adding responsibilities to a team member without training is a recipe for failure and a walk out the door. Make sure your employees understand all of their responsibilities within their role and watch their confidence soar. This confidence will enhance their overall performance, which can only benefit your dealership.

Business Growth Dealership Training Powersports Market

Navigating Subprime Paper

Post author By efgmarketing
Post date August 28, 2019

Contributing Author:
Glenice Wilder
Vice President
EFG Companies

In the last five years, lenders have been competing for more powersports business. Some loosened credit requirements and extended loan terms, while others evaluated the use of alternative data to more accurately determine a person’s creditworthiness.

However, powersports dealers still struggle getting subprime paper bought. When my team is in the store and we see this struggle play out, we always ask how much effort is being put into maintaining lender relationships. The simple fact is, the stronger the relationship, the more willing a lender will be to negotiate and buy outside of their criteria.

So what does it take to develop strong lender relationships? When pondering this question, think beyond complete and accurate applications. It takes communication and the ability to manage expectations.

Do all your team members know lender criteria like the back of their hands?

It’s never a good idea to randomly submit an application hoping for an approval. This process increases each lender’s Look-to-Book ratio, and angers customers when they start receiving a bunch of denial letters in the mail. Each team member needs to clearly understand each lender’s criteria and only submit loans they know will be approved.

Tags EFG, Glenice Wilder, Motorcycles, Powersports, subprime loans