Recent reports indicate cargo theft increased by 57 percent from 2022 to 2023, and mafia-style hijackings are on the rise. According to Verisk Analytics’ CargoNet, the year-over-year average of 58 thefts per year spiked to upwards of 600 from November 2022 through 2023.
“Where we’ve seen the most increase in cargo theft is in the strategic cargo theft category. That strategic cargo theft area is where the thieves basically trick you into giving them the cargo,” Scott Cornell, transportation lead, and crime and theft specialist at Travelers Insurance, reportedly said. “How are they doing that? They’re doing it by using technology. They’re using a lot of the same technology the industry has put in place to make itself more efficient.”
While the majority involved digital schemes and sleight of hand, so to speak, physically stealing tractors and trailers ticked up by 4 percent. This is not to say that owner-operators and fleet drivers are not immune to being flimflammed into turning over a load to criminals. It’s that hijackings place hard-working CDL professionals in greater physical danger. These are ways thieves typically steal big rigs or trailers.
- Fictional Truckers: A criminal may impersonate a truck driver and persuade someone to turn over the load under the façade a legitimate transfer is being conducted. Thieves may replicate paperwork, use a phony caller to confirm the driver change, and use technology to show a dispatcher’s phone number.
- Hijackings: The notion of a criminal accosting a trucker in a parking lot at gunpoint may be the most dangerous scenario. Today’s tech-savvy hijackers may track a big rig to a convenient location. Experts advise truckers not to make stops during the first 200 miles to sidestep hijacking operations.
- Truck Theft: Hijacking rings that possess the ability to break into cabs and hot-wire vehicles sometimes lie in wait at truck stops. When weary drivers go inside to enjoy a sit-down meal or grab a hot shower, they target the semi-truck.
Truckers hauling goods such as food, beverages, electronics, and alcohol are high-profile hijacking targets. That’s largely because these are the leading products stolen by thieves.
It’s also important to keep in mind that tech-driven cargo theft approaches can also put truckers in harm’s way. When an experienced driver gets the feeling something isn’t quite right, it’s crucial to walk away and call the authorities. Any attempt to intervene could put a trucker at unnecessary risk. Cargo can be replaced. Good people cannot.
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