Not that long ago, car dealerships didn’t have to worry about customer information being compromised or stolen. Applications, insurance information, and other sensitive documents would get filed away and locked up, and there was no way to get the information unless someone broke into the dealership. Nowadays, paper filing is more and more going by the wayside, and it is happening for good reason. Looking through filing cabinets can get tedious, and if someone makes a mistake in filing, it can take hours to find what you are looking for. Plus, paper documentation can get torn, worn-out, or destroyed.
Nowadays, computer networks are taking the place of filing cabinets, and dealerships use the internet to pull credit applications, check lead information, manage insurance records, and much more. Unfortunately, not every dealership has taken the necessary steps to protect this sensitive information that is shared between computers and over the internet, and some dealerships’ privacy notices are so outdated that the dealership could be vulnerable to a lawsuit.
In a recent write-up for Special Finance Insider, Mark Bross detailed how Franklin Budget Car Sales got in trouble for this scenario. Franklin shared customer information on a peer-to-peer network without putting the proper security measures in place, and they did not provide consumers with an opt-out so their information would not be shared with third parties. Franklin eventually settled with the Federal Trade Commission and agreed to biennial data security audits from a third party for twenty years as well as numerous other measures meant to correct their security flaws and warn other dealerships not to make the same mistake.
Take a lesson from Franklin Budget Car Sales, and don’t make the same mistakes. Update your privacy notice, and make sure it reflects the latest consumer protection laws. If you use a peer-to-peer network, take the steps to make it secure and properly train employees how to use it so you don’t put customer information at risk. New technology is great, and peer-to-peer networks can be a useful tool to any dealership. Problems arise, however, when dealership jump in without understanding it first.
Have you heard about Special Finance Group’s Complete Special Finance Solution yet? Go to http://www.specialfinancegroup.com to learn more, and connect with Special Finance Group on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!
Image courtesy of sheelamohan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net