Revving Up the Fight Against Fraud
Fraud is a growing concern for powersports dealerships, as scammers increasingly target businesses and their customers in today’s hyperconnected world. On Friday, a panel moderated by Brian Ankney, Regional Sales Manager for Motorcycle & Powersports News, brought together industry experts to discuss the prevalence of fraud schemes and offer actionable steps to protect against them.

Panelists included Johnathan Aguero of Blackpurl, Jared Dowdy of Transax Digital Retail, Lou Pedler of ZiiDMS, Greg Pfleider of Accelerate2Compliance, and Mark Sheffield of Woods Cycle Country. They began by outlining the most common types of fraud affecting dealerships, from phishing scams and identity theft to financial fraud. The discussion emphasized that, in an era where customer data is everywhere, vigilance and proactive measures are essential.

“We’re really just seeing fraud from every angle at this point in time,” Sheffield said. “Even the day before yesterday, I got an email looking as if it was from an employee asking to change their direct deposit information, and it wasn’t real.”

Dowdy echoed the concern, pointing to the rising risk of internal fraud. “There’s a lot that’s going on in the dealer space right now, but always be aware. Always double check. One of the biggest ones right now is internal – you’ve got to be careful for that.”

Brian Ankney, Mark Sheffield, Jared Dowdy, Johnathan Aguero, Lou Pedler, and Greg Pfleider.

The session also explored best practices for consumer data protection, highlighting tools and strategies that dealerships can implement to safeguard their operations. Pfleider stressed that security must become part of a dealership’s daily operations.

“It really starts with establishing a culture of security at your dealership,” he said. “It is absolutely imperative that dealers understand the paradigm has changed. The generation that’s coming up now is keenly aware about consumer private data being stolen.”

Beyond external threats, dealerships must also be wary of risks within their own walls. Aguero emphasized the importance of structured processes to prevent fraud. “Fraud, in my opinion, comes down to systems. Use the tools, use the technological systems, and create the human systems that it takes to keep you safe – so that one breach, which is all it takes, doesn’t happen.”

Sheffield provided a real-world example of internal fraud: “Customer comes in, works with a parts employee, buys something. A few months later, your parts employee – who doesn’t have any restrictions on what they can do in the DMS – says that the customer came back, returned a part, and puts the refund back on the customer’s credit card. The problem with that transaction is that the customer never actually came back, and the refund went to the employee’s personal credit card.”

In addition to discussing prevention strategies, the panel touched on how dealerships can respond when fraud does occur, including damage control and compliance measures. Pedler urged dealers to assess their technology infrastructure.

“If you’re running a dealership and you’ve got credit card machines that aren’t integrated with your dealer management software system, then it opens you up to that ability to refund to any credit card that you want,” he said. “If you’re running an integrated payment solution, you lose that ability.”

Harnessing the Power of AI
Artificial intelligence is transforming industries at a rapid pace, and powersports dealerships are beginning to feel its impact. During a session moderated by Meagan Kusek, Editor of Motorcycle & Powersports News, Eric O’Hagan, Director of AI/ML Innovation & Implementation at Pied Piper, and Fran O’Hagan, CEO of Pied Piper, discussed how AI is revolutionizing dealership operations and enhancing customer experiences.

The speakers shared specific examples of how AI can already be used at little or no cost, from optimizing inventory management to enhancing lead follow-up and personalizing customer interactions.

“First of all, we’ll just demystify the acronyms here,” Eric O’Hagan said. “When we’re talking about AI, we’re talking about machines performing tasks that humans can do – computers performing automated tasks that were traditionally done by people.”

He went on to explain that machine learning allows AI to process vast amounts of data to improve performance over time, leading to powerful applications that can benefit dealerships immediately.

Eric O’Hagan

One of the most immediate ways dealers can take advantage of AI is through content creation, automation, and analytics.

“Think of AI as a supersmart, well-read, speedy colleague who’s great at writing, creativity, and analysis,” Eric O’Hagan said. He emphasized that dealers can start by using AI for simple tasks like drafting customer emails, analyzing sales data, or generating social media content with ease.

The session examined how AI is expected to evolve and impact the powersports industry over the next few years. The speakers encouraged attendees to stay informed and think critically as new technologies emerge.

“AI isn’t going to replace employees,” Fran O’Hagan said. “It’s going to make them super productive.”

He advised dealers to experiment with AI tools and evaluate vendor solutions carefully, ensuring they provide direct profitability rather than chasing trends.