IDENTITY CRISIS: Dealerships are targets for ID thieves, from inside and outside. An Arizona store provides a cautionary tale

摘要

When Scottsdale, Ariz., police pulled over a vehicle on Sept. 10, 2008, they uncovered a fraud ring with ties to drugs, prostitution - and a local auto dealership. "It was basically a forgery mill on wheels," Scottsdale Police Detective Scott Much said. Inside the car, mixed in with credit card numbers stolen from a telemarketing company, were sales contracts from Henry Brown Buick-GMC-Pontiac in the nearby suburb of Gilbert, Ariz. Police went to the dealership and talked to owner Henry Brown. Brown, shocked to hear about the security breach, cooperated with investigators. Together they figured out the common element to the sales contracts gone missing: All those customers were handled by finance manager Dominick Hurley. It's a crime story that law enforcement officials say happens too often - one that dealers fear and can be reluctant to discuss when it happens at their dealerships and their customers are victimized.