Pub. 16 2017-2018 Issue 3

N E W J E R S E Y C O A L I T I O N O F A U T O M O T I V E R E T A I L E R S 11 new jersey auto retailer W W W . N J C A R . O R G If dealership personnel do get questions, it is important to first explain that the reported breach occurred at Equifax, and does not involve the dealership, data stored at the dealership, or dealership processes. steps consumers can take to protect their credit, including how to place a fraud alert, or a credit "freeze" on their account. What if dealership personnel see a fraud alert or encoun- ter a "frozen" credit report? Dealership personnel should review the FTC document entitled Fraud alerts vs. credit freezes: FTC FAQs, also available on the FTC website listed above. This particular document provides further information about fraud alerts and credit freezes. Basically, if a customer's credit is "frozen" then that customer's credit report generally cannot be viewed until the customer takes steps to "unfreeze" their credit. They will be assigned a PIN they must use (and may forget), and it may include a fee that the customer must pay (both to place, and to temporarily "lift" the freeze), and could include a lead time that could affect a financing transaction. If there is a fraud alert on the credit report, then the dealership must take certain additional steps to verify the identity of the applicant (generally calling a phone number that the consumer provided at the time they placed the fraud alert and speaking with the consumer) before the credit process can be finalized. Dealers should also be aware that there are already scammers trying to take further advantage of the Equifax breach by calling consumers and trying to obtain personal information through false pretenses. Lastly, this is a good reminder for all New Jersey dealers to revisit their Red Flags Program to ensure that they are taking the required steps to detect and prevent scammers from opening a line of credit using someone else's information.