Through the ID AdvocatesSM ID Theft Solution Suite, Dealers now have a way to assist their customers and employees in planning against and recovering from the effects of identity theft. In addition, Dealers can supercharge their F&I business with incremental revenue from this program.
Identity theft became a reality for more than 10 million Americans last year. ID AdvocatesSM has created a Fully Loaded ID Theft Solution Suite specifically for Dealers and Agents interested in providing a proactive and reactive solution to the national problem of information security and identity theft, combining the benefits of consumer attraction and retention with corporate risk mitigation.
Why is it important for you to offer this program to your employees and customers? Consumers protect themselves in case of an auto accident, but what about in the event of ID Theft? Do they know who to call? Let’s review some simple facts.
Identity Theft: A National Problem that Affects People of all Ages
- Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States.
- Every 79 seconds an identity is stolen.
- According to a 2005 nationwide survey conducted by Nationwide Mutual Insurance, the average person will spend more than 81 hours of their own time trying to recover from the effects of identity theft. One-third said they have been unable to repair their tainted identities.
- By now, all Dealers are familiar with the requirements of Section 501(a) of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB) and the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) privacy rule, obligating them to disclose to their finance, lease and insurance customers how they use and share consumer information. Now the FTC has published a new rule that is in addition to, and independent of, the Privacy Rule. It is the FTC’s “Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information” (Safeguards Rule). The Safeguards Rule requires Dealers to develop, implement and maintain a comprehensive written information security program. It also requires Dealers to select and retain service providers that are capable of maintaining appropriate safeguards for the customer information Dealers share with them. The final compliance date for the Privacy Rule was July 1, 2001. The final compliance date for the Safeguards Rule was May 23, 2003.
- Current trends of data breaches include fines, penalties, negative public relations, loss of business and lawsuits, for example ChoicePoint and LexisNexis to TJX.
- Traditional data defenses focus on Information Technology instead of Information Security.
- According to latest data breaches, your company’s potential legal and financial risk averages $21,000 per employee.
- According the to the Privacy Rights Organization, Since Feb. 15, 2005 there has been over 400 data breaches affecting 104 million consumers.