FactorsNetwork, a collaboration site for factoring companies, formally unveiled its latest offering: “Chameleon Catcher,” an application that helps transportation factors identify when a business carrying debt opens under a new name.

FactorsNetwork previewed the new service at the 2013 IFA conference in Miami. Chameleon Catcher joins the roster of other FactorsNetwork services, including CreditExchange, Portfolio Monitoring and Analysis, Credit Alerts, Carrier Monitoring and Fraud Watcher.

Virtually everyone working in transportation factoring is familiar with “Chameleon Catcher.” The simple definition is a business that gets a bad safety rating with the Department of Transportation (DOT), and then shuts down to clear their DOT record. The business then re-opens under a different name.

While the Department of Transportation tracks chameleons, their concern remains solely on companies that are trying to discharge their bad safety ratings by opening up under a different name. The DOT isn’t alerting secured creditors if the carrier was a Chameleon to discharge a debt.

“Our Chameleon Catcher provides two valuable services to FactorsNetwork members,” said Anthony Aliengena, founder of FactorsNetwork. “While it’s great for helping our members collect bad debt from Chameleons, it’s also helping them make sound, due diligence decisions.” The Chameleon Catcher shows if their prospective client has been associated with another MC number in the past. Factors can then search for Uniform Commercial Code filings around those companies and see if their prospective client may have skeletons in their closet.

To learn more about the Chameleon Catcher, click here.