The transportation sector relies on trust. When that trust is undermined by fraud, the damage spreads quickly. Loads go missing and reputations are damaged; impacts that last far longer than any single incident.
At National Motor Freight Traffic Association, Inc. (NMFTA), we believe the industry has reached a turning point. Freight fraud is increasing in the industry and is resulting in unsustainable losses for the entire transportation sector.
We need stronger fraud prevention that is built into the earliest moments of onboarding, tendering, and pickup.
That’s the intent behind two launches that go live this month: SCAC Verified and the Freight Fraud Prevention Hub.
One of these is an identity verification tool and the other, is an education resource aimed at increasing awareness about how freight fraud is conducted and providing actionable steps to reduce our risk from it.
Coupled together, these two releases demonstrate NMFTA’s ongoing commitment to helping the industry reduce fraud by strengthening identity signals and making prevention practices easier to adopt and repeat.
The Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC) has long served as a trusted common identifier across the transportation sector. However, as fraud tactics have matured a gap has become apparent in the verification process for non-Class 8 SCAC applications. Fraud become far more likely when onboarding and tendering decisions rely on insufficient tools for verification of legitimacy. NMFTA recognized this gap and has developed a way to address it.
As of February 26, 2026, SCACs for non-Class 8 carriers (entities that often don’t have the same standard federal identifiers like a USDOT or MC number that many Class 8 carriers do) will be issued and renewed exclusively through NMFTA’s SCAC portal using enhanced verification processes entities that often don’t have the same standard federal identifiers (like a USDOT or MC number) that many Class 8 carriers do. An important note: Class 8 carrier SCAC application and renewal processes are not changing at this time, and the initiative is being rolled out in phases to ensure clarity and minimize disruption.
The SCAC ID verification component is not a “magic solution,” but it is a meaningful hardening layer. It helps legitimate entities stand out more clearly and makes it harder for bad actors to scale impersonation in the non-Class 8 space.
For brokers and shippers, this means a stronger trust signal that can be used to inform onboarding and tendering decisions. For carriers who operate in this segment of the industry it offers a clearer path to legitimacy and differentiation at an early stage in decision making. And for the industry, it’s a step toward restoring confidence in the basic question that sits underneath every transaction: Are we dealing with who we think we’re dealing with?
The Freight Fraud Prevention Hub is NMFTA’s new centralized destination for practical resources that support fraud prevention. Centralizing these resources helps the industry make accessing them easier and aligning around a shared set of guidelines more achievable. In support of this, NMFTA is also launching a Freight Fraud Prevention Hub Quarterly Webinar Series, beginning March 19, 2026, focused on the reality that fraud is often discussed in silos even though the impacts are felt across theft, identity misuse, insurance claims, reputational harm, and erosion of trust across the industry.
If you’re a non-Class 8 carrier renewing or applying for a SCAC, prepare to complete the verification process as of Feb. 26. If you’re a broker, shipper, or carrier looking to strengthen your organization’s resistance to freight fraud, make the Freight Fraud Prevention Hub part of your team’s routine.
Fraud prevention is not a one-time project. It’s a discipline and a mindset. These two launches are steps toward that future, and NMFTA is committed to continuing the work.
