“Fraud has never been higher” || Frank McKenna, Cofounder and Chief Fraud Strategist, Point Predictive

Lifelong California resident Frank McKenna has been working in fraud analysis for over 33 years, making him one of the most incisive and experienced minds in his industry. He now plays a key role in Point Predictive, a company he helped found in his hometown of San Diego, by working with in-house engineers and scientists to develop new fraud detection solutions, then helping outside partners like banks and other lenders to implement them.

On this episode, Frank speaks with our host Derek D about what he’s learned recently during the day-to-day tasks of monitoring trends related to fraud in the automotive industry - including why there’s been such a dramatic uptick in auto-dealership fraud since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic-related measures that have helped customers stay safe but have accidentally been aiding fraudsters, and the staggering amount of resources potential fraudsters can access online to train themselves in scamming. He also discusses solutions being implemented right now, such as driver’s license scanning and using aggregate data to authenticate income for people who don’t have traditional paystubs.

Frank McKenna | Point Predictive

Episode Highlights:

• Why knowledge-based authentication surveys are both inconvenient and ineffective - and how to replace them
• How Point Predictive is helping dealerships focus on the tiny percentage of transactions that may be problematic rather than slow down legitimate buyers
• The shocking amount of money a single fraudulent transaction could cost a dealership
• The ways in which dealerships that experience regular and systematic fraud have to correct internal issues

“Fraud always follows the money - we call it ‘fast money, fast fraud’. Lenders relaxed, maybe dealerships did the same, and the fraudsters took advantage.” 

— Frank McKenna

|| Dealer News Today is a DCG Media production