Freight fraud schemes are going viral as hackers impersonate trucking industry brokers and siphon off thousands from unsuspecting carriers, owner-operators, and logistics firms.
“We consider this really a threat to the way of doing business,” Anne Reinke, chief executive of the Transportation Intermediaries Association, reportedly said. “How can a shipper trust either a carrier or a broker if they’re not sure their shipment is going to get to where it’s going to go?”
The issue of digital con artists is nothing new to industries that make purchases, sales, or broker deals online. During the pandemic, sophisticated hackers got people to send money for loved ones they believed contracted Covid-19. Other schemes prompted people to buy fake vaccines before big pharma released the shot.
Truckers have been more insulated than many other occupations. But those days are coming to a close. The once-nagging problem has escalated over the last two years. As the competition to match loads online heated up, cybercriminals took advantage of people conducting less due diligence. Fewer background checks and trucking outfits working with more new people have emboldened digital thieves.
One of the primary strategies used to pilfer off money is called “double brokering.” Someone employs a phony persona to bid on a load. The shipper pays the fraudster, who then reposts the shipment after receiving the funds. The fake can either skim money off the transaction and short-change truckers, or erase their digital footprint and keep all the cash. These are ways to avoid getting scammed.
- Complete a credit check before agreeing to take a load, even if it’s repeat business.
- Follow through on credit check alerts that request a call to the broker for verification.
- Consider contacting accounts payable to ensure the load is credible.
- Look for spelling errors, odd font sizes, or grammatical mistakes in electronic messages.
- Check the email account matches the organization and is not a Gmail, Yahoo, or common source.
- Check the names on the paperwork to ensure they are real people and are affiliated with the broker.
- It’s also not unusual for scammers to entice people with exorbitant rate quotes.
“It’s a very difficult environment, and so they’re on the hairy edge of profitability anyway,” Jeff Hopper, chief marketing officer of DAT Solutions, reportedly said. “When they get a hit like this, it can be the determinant of, ‘Do I stay in business or not?’”
Reports indicate fraud complaints rose by upwards of 400 percent during the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to the previous year.
Leave a Comment