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Internet Manager snakes Dealership

Alex Snyder

President Skroob
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May 1, 2006
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Article from DealersEdge: Dealer sues former Internet manager over online vandalism, defamation | News | DealersEdge

DealersEdge said:
Dealer sues former Internet manager over online vandalism, defamation

A lesson in why dealers need to guard their online reputations vigorously (12/3/2009)

DealersEdge Headlines
Odd things started happening after Robert Brandoff was fired from his job as Internet Coordinator for Fette Ford in New Jersey. Email links stopped working, and worse. The police weren’t interested in helping, so Fette Ford took more direct action.

According to a report in the Hackensack Record, the Ford dealership filed a lawsuit against its former Internet manager accusing him of using his insider knowledge and stolen passwords to vandalize the dealership’s website, after he was terminated.

In its federal lawsuit, Fette Ford says it hired Mr. Brandoff in February 2008. The dealership terminated him 10 months later, but documents filed with the suit give no reason for his departure.

Six months later, and three days after Mr. Brandoff visited Fette Ford and talked with former co-workers, a customer told the dealership that its website had some defamatory statements about the company and that some vehicle prices had been altered.

Later, the dealership discovered that various email links on the site had been changed, effectively shutting down aspects of a marketing campaign -- such as those that enabled customers to ask for information and price quotes.

Mr. Brandoff is also accused of posting "numerous expletives" and defamatory statements about the dealership on the site, the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Newark says.

Vandalism prompted some customers to visit the dealership looking to buy vehicles at the altered prices. In one case, it is alleged that Mr. Brandoff changed an advertisement to offer a 2007 Mustang Saleen Coupe at $19,995, $40,000 less than the MSRP.

As a result, the dealership says it suffered "great financial and economic injury in amounts that are continuing." .

Among other charges, the suit accuses Mr. Brandoff of fraud, violating the state Computer Related Offenses Act and conversion, or taking ownership of someone else’s property. The suit asks the court to stop the former coordinator from doing further damage, and seeks unspecified compensation.

Managers at Fette Ford referred the matter to the County Prosecutor’s Office. Investigators there identified the Internet address of the person who made the changes and subpoenaed records, confirming that it was Mr. Brandoff. The matter was referred to local police who say they don’t expect to file any charges.


Who else has heard of this stuff?
 
Management should periodically audit the ISM to produce a complete inventory of all marketing sites and their passwords

I sent this to our owners (my family) and told them they didn't have anything to worry about :lol: But I agree, we should all have to cough things up. It should apply to IT departments too.

BUT there are a few of us here who would absolutely decimate a dealership if we left. Even if all our logins and passwords were given. Who the hell in your dealership could pick up the pieces Joe? I know there is no one else at Checkered Flag. If our competitors really wanted to hurt us, they could hire a hit man and have me taken out. What happens if we get hit by a bus? That's the real scare for the dealership.
 
For the average store that chooses their "Internet Manager" through the very technical......."Hey you have a laptop, you deal with the internet customers" method of developing an internet department. This should be a wake up call as to the position of power an Internet Manager really is.
 
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Sounds like you better ask the dealership for protection. A couple of big strapping amazonian women should do the trick.:rofl:

eCommerce Director Bodyguard Needed
We need to protect our assets. Because of our eCommerce Director's mouth, we have found the need to hire someone to protect his dumb ass. Unfortunately, this guy holds the keys to our kingdom, but he sure likes to piss people off on a particular website called DealerRefresh. In order to make sure we're okay, we need someone to watch out for him (especially on Saturday nights when Jim and Jose are hanging out). We need you to start yesterday as he's been ruffling feathers for a long time.

If you see anyone from Edmunds approaching him, please shoot on site.
 
I used to work a stones throw from Fette. In fact, my parents purchased their Mustang from Fette Ford.

I've actually heard of stuff like this happening before. I seem to remember an internet manager on Long Island hacking into a competitor's email account and skimming leads. I'll see if I can find the news article on it.