I've written or updated a handful of policy-and-procedure manuals for dealer-clients since the beginning of this year. This task is a continuing process, as compliance remains a moving target. It can be difficult to stay current with compliance, and I've developed several resources to help me do so. Here are a few of them:
Fédérales
The Office of Foreign Asset Control maintains a list of enemies of the state and has been around in some form or fashion since the War Between the States. Because of economic sanctions currently being issued, the list is updated two to three times a week. The potential penalties are severe if a dealer sells a vehicle to someone on the list, yet some dealers pooh-pooh the requirement to check it because of the small risk of a customer being on it.
I have a dealer-client who received a legitimate hit with a potential customer on the OFAC list. The general manager called the OFAC hotline and eventually was granted permission to sell the vehicle for cash. It turned out this consumer was a drug dealer in a neighboring state. The dealer provided OFAC with all the customer and vehicle information from the deal, and the Federales corralled the drug dealer at the state line heading home.
Had the GM not checked the list, the potential fines could have been in the millions, which would be difficult to pay from a jail cell.
You can sign up for an email notifying you when the list is updated at https://ofac.treasury.gov.
The Federal Trade Commission is the primary consumer-protection agency with oversight of our industry. Many of the rules that we must demonstrate compliance with are promulgated by this agency, such as the Used Car Rule, Privacy Rule, and Red Flags Rule.
The FTC periodically issues press releases on actions it takes. This recent press release may have been of interest: consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2025/02/fake-check-scam-targets-online-car-sellers.
You can put your name on its e-mailing list at https//www.ftc.gov.
Driver’s Licenses
A lawyer once challenged me about what I felt was a fraudulent driver's license. His reasoning was that a Real ID star symbol was on the ID the Division of Motor Vehicles had vetted for the consumer similar to the vetting completed to obtain a passport. I won the debate when I showed him examples of ID thieves who had been arrested and the fraudulent driver’s license that had the star. Stars are part of the forgery.
There are plenty of websites that purport to provide fake identities. Many of these are fronts for identity-theft rings because they sometimes offer a fake paystub service, as well as their fake ID offering. To get a fake paystub, a consumer provides sensitive nonpublic personal information that facilitates the ID theft.
Simply do a search for “fake driver’s licenses” and marvel at the list of available options. Then sweep every employee's internet histories on dealership computers to make sure that your employees are not creating the fakes.
There are several reputable companies that provide online driver’s license vetting. In my consulting business, I rely on a paper guide that I carry which dealers can also use to supplement their ID vetting software. You can order copies of this paper guide at www.idcheckingguide.com.
Google Alerts
Google has a feature that will search the web for articles that contain keywords that you designate. The articles are delivered to your email inbox daily.
The keywords are limited only by your imagination. I have alerts in place with the phrases “car dealer fraud,” “car dealer deceptive practices,” and “Office of Foreign Assets Control,” for example.
You can set your daily alerts at www.google.com/alerts.
Continued Good Health, Good Luck, and Good Selling.
Gil Van Over is executive director of Automotive Compliance Education (ACE). He is also founder and president of gvo3 & Associates and author of “Automotive Compliance in a Digital World.”
