Fraud Happens
Operators say that one warning sign of a potentially fraudulent transaction is being presented with an unfamiliar out-of-state license. “It’s just a feeling I get,” says Monica May of Accessible Vans of America in Florissant, Mo. “You know what your home state ID looks like, so it’s always a question to be sure that the out-of-state license you’re looking at is actually valid.”
Owings Mills, Md.–based Allstate Auto Rentals’ Thomas Thayer agrees. “Because we’re locally based, I tell my people if you get something that’s out of state, that should raise a red flag,” he says.
Thayer recently experienced a renter who used an invalid driver’s license and drove off with the vehicle. After receiving a call from an unknown third party whose credit card was charged for the transaction, Thayer and his team located the vehicle using a GPS tracking system. They discovered that the fraudulent renter had equipment in the vehicle to create fake IDs.
James Schwehr, owner of Affinity Luxury Car Rental in Toronto, lost a Toyota Camry to a renter with an out-of-province fraudulent license. “The insurance company did not cover [the loss] because the client had consent when he drove off the lot,” he says.
Even renters with invalid licenses who are not trying to steal a car pose a risk. “Most of these renters were not aware that their license was suspended, but that doesn’t help us,” says Schwehr. If those renters get into an accident, the RAC’s insurance company may not cover the claim.
To subscribe to Auto Rental News magazine, click here.