We’re in the midst of silly season and SuperSpark would like to not only remind Cautious Chris from Carletonville, but all our Dealer Members, to be super-vigilant.

This is the time when fraudsters are at their most active – so be aware!

Please remember my words of wisdom a few months ago: if something seems too good to be true it usually is. So let good old common sense prevail and switch on the bright red warning lights particularly under the following circumstances:

• When a vehicle is offered to you way under book value – remember when something looks too good to be true...

• While circumstances may require some customers to conduct business after hours, this should also raise suspicion.

• Beware of copies of documents and temporary driving licenses (even when they are certified and seem in order) as these temporary licenses are issued on fraudulent ID documentation. You always need to check the originals.

• An ID book is safer and preferable over a passport.

• The NaTIS document is the most important vehicle document you should have and, as you know, a sale without the NaTIS document is not legal. Check the particulars of the vehicle against the NaTIS document. A red light should flash when you notice that the vehicle or NaTIS shows three or more registration numbers, e.g. GP / MP / FS. This could indicate the creation of a vehicle registration history.

• Use your ID buddy to check ID and other documents to ensure that they are legal and weren’t tampered with.

• You should have a good idea of the average number of Value-Added Products sold per transaction at your dealership. Exercise caution if a customer agrees to accept all of your VAPS, as this may be an indication that they just want the deal to go through as quickly as possible so that delivery can take place.

• Hit the brakes and see those red lights flashing when a customer insists on signing papers somewhere other than the dealership and/or wants to take delivery at a different venue.

• Remember if all of the above was checked and balanced and the customer requests a test drive, make sure that the driver is identified and that someone competent accompanies the person test driving the vehicle.

Spend the time and effort checking anything that looks out of the ordinary, and you can save yourself a lot of pain and money.

A flying success to you all!

SuperSpark