Experian’s latest survey showed nearly 9 in 10 dealers are concerned about fraud.

Another dealer survey by eLEND Solutions revealed how justified that concern is: nearly 80% of dealers have seen growth in fraud-related activities during past 24 months.

Plus, eLEND reported nearly half of dealers in its survey have lost four or more cars to identity fraud in the past two years,

Bottom line: most dealers surveyed worry that increasing digitization of the purchase process is not only leading to increases in identity fraud but also is making it less preventable, eLEND said.

“This is a snapshot of the onslaught of fraud auto dealerships are experiencing in all aspects of their business, much of it a result of the increasing digitization of the auto purchase process,” eLEND CEO and founder Pete MacInnis said in a news release about the survey finding released during the 2026 NADA Show in Las Vegas.

“The data underscores that identity fraud is especially pernicious, even though its No. 1 factor — the driver’s license — makes it the easiest to solve.”

The snapshot survey was conducted online among self-identified auto dealers late last year.

Among the survey highlights:

—77% of dealer respondents have seen an increase in fraud-related activities over the last two years.

—76% say fraud has increased 20% or more in the past two years.

—In the past two years, 48% lost four or more vehicles to identity fraud, 24% lost 10 or more.

—41% have experienced fraud in the past year alone.

—39% of dealers say 40% or more of fraud is related to the increase of remote/digital purchase transactions.

—95% agree that as the vehicle transaction process becomes more digital, identity fraud will continue to grow and be more challenging to prevent.

—81% said a driver’s license scan converted to a prequal and pushed into the deal jacket would be a meaningful benefit.

MacInnis pointed out that driver’s license scanners with comprehensive data authentication can be leveraged to help dealerships by enabling consumer consented pre-qualification that can be pushed directly into the deal jacket, a benefit that over 80% of respondents said could be meaningful.

MacInnis added that eLEND’s Identity Solutions, including ID Drive, ID Drive Mobile, Identify, DMV Data Match, and 700Credit Identity Verification Platform, have prevented over $1 Billion in potential identity fraud annually since 2022, according to the companies.

“Unfortunately, the problem is increasing because too many dealers rely on driver’s license scanners that lack forensic authentication and DMV and PII data matching,” MacInnis said.

“As fraudsters become more sophisticated, and AI is poised to inflate fraud schemes, it is critical that auto dealerships equip themselves with tools that are able to dive deep into data to ensure that their customers are exactly who they say they are,” he went on to say.