First Car Rental Integrates ACCSSA to Stop Fraud and Theft

Johannesburg, South Africa, February 16, 2011 --(PR.com)-- ACCSSA (Active Customer Credibility Scan and Security Alerts), a South African company, was established in 2008 when a worrying trend of increased instances of fraud, theft and non-payment was identified within the car rental and related industries, ultimately costing the consumer in excess of an estimated R20 million per month in lost cars and vehicle recovery costs.

Defaulting Customer Information
ACCSSA, an online or integration, real-time and affordable solution for the identifying, recording and sharing of such defaulting customer information, both internally within your own company or group, and externally with fellow subscribing companies or groups, addresses this problem effectively.

Affordable Solution for Car Rentals
Through its collaboration with MaxID, a South African manufacturer and supplier of latest technology scanners, ACCSSA offers a unique and affordable solution for car rental and related companies, which provides:

• Secure, real-time and automated access to the ACCSSA Defaulter Database;
• The sharing of defaulting customer information instantly with your other branches, and other subscribing companies;
• Decryption and three-way verification of SA and USA Drivers Licences and all international 'Chipped' passports;
• Verification of credit card issuing bank (bin number verification);
• Future automated access to international credit bureaus;
• A measurable reduction in fraud, theft and vandalism - the financial saving ultimately being passed on to the consumer.

First and Leading the Way
First Car Rental is leading the way, and is currently rolling out the system nationally, which will go 'live' shortly.

Says Melissa Storey, Executive Head of First Car Rental: Strategy, Development & Marketing for First Car Rental and Sixt Rent a Car South Africa: “The development with MaxID scanners and ACCSSA database query systems not only addresses accuracy and security upon check-out, but forms part of a much bigger project for us – inclusive of a completely 'green' check-out procedure and the much debated 'Administrative Adjudication of Traffic Offences Act (AARTO) compliance'. AARTO was initiated in July 2008 in the Tswhane region, and will now includes the rest of South Africa. We are prepared for AARTO with processes that include sound data accumulation and existing communication of offence driven information and vehicle movements related to renters or staff to adapt to any changes that eNatis or the Department of Transport introduce. This is as a result of working with great partners like MaxID and ACCSSA.”

Multiscan Alert
ACCSSA has now also added our 'Multiscan Alert' feature. The purpose of this new feature is to curb the trend of fraudsters that steal multiple cars across varying car rental companies in one day. The fraudsters often manage to get away with numerous 'high-end' luxury vehicles, long before anyone even becomes aware of, or is alerted to their activity. This usually results in a frenzy of phone calls and faxes between risk managers, but all too late.

This newly added feature monitors the system for multiple scans within the past 24 hours (or any predetermined time period) of drivers licences, ID books, passports and credit cards across all subscribers, all branches and all users of the ACCSSA system. Should any of these documents be scanned more than once in a set time period, the user will instantly be notified in the pop-up window and an e-mail alert will instantly be sent to the main subscriber or risk manager of the relevant user.

Says Mike Martin, MD of ACCSSA, “While our existing system offers both effective pre-screening and protection against these fraudsters 'after the fact', there remains the period of risk between the time of the original fraudulent activity and the time when the fraudster is captured onto our database. This leaves a window of time in which our subscribers may be exposed to further possible cases of fraud from the same perpetrators. This new 'Multiscan Alert' feature addresses this issue effectively. We believe this to be an extremely valuable tool in the fight against fraud, and will ultimately benefit the consumer's pocket!”

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