FMCSA to overhaul registration system to stamp out fraud
Summary
The changes are aimed mostly at security and fraud prevention, which Ken Riddle, director of the Office of Registration and Safety Information at FMCSA, repeated on every slide of his presentation. Near-term changes, some already implemented, include no longer sending PIN numbers by electronic communication, instituting multi-factor authentication, and contracting out verification services to industry-leading firms. [Related: The double brokering slow burn: How it happens, and how to fight back against it] Riddle promised these initial steps "in the next 90 days," to start rolling out in segments of the registered population. For example, carriers using a registered agent as a principal place of business (PPOB) will have that address checked in real time and, hypothetically, might have their application rejected or flagged for correction. A larger overhaul of the registration system that will ask carriers questions and lead them to the correct form, while verifying information in real time, should come online by the start of fiscal year 2025, or October 1.