North America’s supply chain is under siege from bad actors perpetrating freight fraud on an alarming scale. CargoNet's annual analysis reported record-breaking cargo theft activity across the United States and Canada in 2024: freight theft increased 27% from 2023 levels, with the estimated average value per theft rising to $202,364 from $187,895.
And it’s not just thieves pilfering goods from warehouses or from trucks parked at truck stops (the top two targeted locations for physical theft). Strategic theft — a type of cargo theft involving deception targeting supply chain vulnerabilities to mislead shippers, brokers, and carriers and gain access to freight under false pretenses — has skyrocketed since the pandemic, increasing a staggering 1,500% since the first quarter of 2021.
Freight fraud can take many forms:
- Identity theft: Impersonating reputable carrier or broker brands.
- Double brokering: Illegally passing off a brokered load to another carrier, often leaving shippers in the dark about who has possession of their freight.
- Phishing/smishing scams: Sending fake emails/texts to trick recipients into clicking malicious links or divulging passwords or other personal information.
- Data spoofing: Disguising and misrepresenting driver location, load status, or compliance scores. Using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) numbers to create multiple driver accounts or obscure a driver’s true identity.
- False documentation: Forging or altering documents to misrepresent equipment or insurance coverage.
Increasingly tech-savvy criminal networks are quick to exploit fragmented data, inconsistent checks, and the pressure to move loads quickly. In many cases, the fraud is discovered too late — when a load fails to arrive on time or when payment disputes arise — damaging carrier-shipper relationships and leaving all parties out of pocket.
This aggressive evolution in freight fraud is extremely costly for transportation companies, taking a bite out of margins already squeezed by tariffs, labor shortages, and increased operating costs. According to the American Trucking Associations’ estimates, criminal enterprises are costing the supply chain up to $35 billion annually, while driving consumer prices and insurance costs higher.
FMCSA fights back
With the volume and sophistication of fraudulent activity reaching unprecedented levels, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is modernizing its systems and stepping up enforcement. In April 2025, the agency began implementing some of the most significant anti-fraud initiatives in years, starting with a focus on carrier vetting within the Unified Registration System (URS).
As part of its new MOTUS one-stop-shop registration system, the FMCSA launched an identity verification process requiring new commercial driver applicants (existing users will be included in the second phase of the MOTUS rollout) to match their government documents with a facial scan and provide a valid physical business address; virtual addresses (e.g., PO Box, USPS box, Staples mailbox) are no longer accepted. These simple changes introduced an unprecedented level of traceability to the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) application process.
Fraud prevention best practices for transportation teams
As fraudulent activities increase in sophistication and frequency, carriers and logistics providers need to work together to tackle fraud head-on. In conjunction with the FMCSA’s new tech-driven fraud prevention initiatives, the following practical steps will help transportation teams minimize risk:
- Layer visibility into carrier vetting. Use technology platforms that combine FMCSA authority data with historical tracking performance, vehicle identification number (VIN) verification, geo-location, and insurance validation at the point of onboarding, not just post-dispatch.
- Use risk scoring in load assignment. Implement fraud and performance scores into the tendering process to avoid high-risk carriers before a load is booked.
- Train teams to recognize red flags. Empower dispatchers and carrier reps to spot unusual tracking patterns, identity mismatches, FMCSA profile edits, or VOIP-based driver phones that could be linked to fraudulent entities.
- Automate the fraud response. Establish real-time alerting workflows for route deviations, location ping gaps, or sudden contact changes and ensure teams know how to respond.
- Engage with FMCSA tools and reporting. Leverage FMCSA’s updated registration and complaint portals to verify credentials and report suspicious behavior. The more the industry collaborates, the stronger the shield.
Working together to thwart thieves
FMCSA’s modernization push, including multi-factor authentication (MFA) identity verification and the new MOTUS registration platform, is not only an important step to help safeguard the industry and consumers but it draws attention to the need for industry stakeholders to continuously innovate and upgrade their cybersecurity strategies and systems, working together to root out bad actors and prevent fraud across the global supply chain.
Indeed, in a world where freight data moves digitally at every turn, cybersecurity is a shared responsibility. Shippers and brokers that choose to ignore the security habits of their carriers jeopardize cargo security, liability, and reputation. In the same vein, carriers need to strengthen their security posture through rigorous broker vetting and load verification, real-time GPS tracking, and training drivers to recognize suspicious pickup attempts.
By prioritizing partners with solid cybersecurity practices — and using technology solutions that reinforce those practices through early detection and proactive notifications — transportation companies can significantly reduce the risk of freight fraud, prevent supply chain disruptions, and protect profits.
