How to adapt to the logistics industry’s growing issue: cargo theft

We’ve seen a notable recent increase in cases regarding stolen cargo, which is just a small piece of what the logistics industry has been facing in recent years. In fact, the National Insurance Crime Bureau reports that cargo theft has climbed 1,500 percent in occurrence since 2021, costing the logistics industry approximately $35 billion annually.¹

Here’s what you can do to reduce your odds of falling victim to cargo theft, saving you money — and a logistical nightmare.

Thieves are mimicking reputable companies’ names even on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) official website! They communicate using spoofed and stolen email accounts using logos, VOiP phone numbers, websites, and operating authorities to divert loads.

According to the Transportation Intermediaries Association’s (TIA) April 2025 Report “State of Fraud in the Industry,” truckload freight remains the primary target of fraud, with the most targeted commodities to be “high-value, easy-to-resell goods” and difficult to trace, such as household goods, electronics, appliances, and frozen and refrigerated goods.

Time and liability costs have resulted in major losses to impacted companies. Sixty-five percent of companies responding to a TIA survey reported spending more than two hours a day on fraud prevention, while 24% stated it’s a full day’s task. And regarding dealing with the aftermath, 37% of respondents reported their staff spends more than two hours a day.

• The best deterrence is to be aware, and to prepare your company. Here’s how: Screen your employees in compliance with local, state, and federal laws. It’s a sad reality that some thefts involve internal staff who have access to load values, commodity types, and dispatch information. High-value loads should only be handled by trusted employees.
• Know or vet your transportation partners before hiring. Ask the hard questions about their own security protocols in advance.

A Note on Our Suggestions

Cargo theft by fraud is a fast-evolving threat, and no single checklist can guarantee protection. The following tips are intended as a practical resource for transportation professionals—whether you’re a broker, carrier, shipper, or warehouse manager—looking to strengthen internal safeguards and reduce exposure. Some of these measures may already be part of your operations, others might be low-lift additions, and a few may require longer-term investment or coordination across departments. This is not a definitive playbook or a declaration of industry norms. Rather, it’s a collection of ideas drawn from real-world cases, emerging best practices, and lessons learned. Each company must assess its own risk profile, operational constraints, and legal obligations before adopting any particular approach.

Here are some guidelines for specific participants in the transportation industry:

Shippers

• Use GPS tracking and geofencing on your loads and integrate this with TMS systems or other tools to provide real-time alerts.
• Use brokers that leave re-routing decisions to you.
• Use brokers that do not double broker and include this as a requirement in your contract.
• Carefully review brokers’ or freight forwarders’ contracts, including limitations of liability in their Terms and Conditions and look for disclaimers of liability for fraud. Remember to check Ts&Cs on websites.
• Call each of your transportation partners to speak to known personnel at publicly published numbers to confirm their identities and the information regarding your loads. Do not rely on an email with a logo on it along with any contact information therein.
• Invest in additional cargo insurance protecting your load specifically providing coverage criminal acts including fraud committed by other parties’ employees or external actors.
• Require carriers and brokers to carry cargo liability policies that explicitly include fraud and deceit coverage and get proof that the policies have these endorsements.
• Specify that insurance coverage must apply even if cargo was not delivered or was intercepted before transit began.
• Don’t rush contracting with your broker. As a shipper, you’re in a hurry and may want to pass everything off to your broker. But if the cargo is lost, your broker’s (and its insurer’s) first response will be to deny liability and courts generally will back them up—unless your contract says otherwise.

Warehousemen

• Keep high-value loads monitored, secured, and sequestered in the warehouse.
• Keep your perimeter safe, including entrances to the warehouse. Use good lighting. Consider fencing, badge access, and license plate capture.
• Install alarms and surveillance systems (and use modern video equipment with high enough resolution to see faces and read license plates).
• Train your staff to thoroughly review the bill of lading and the driver’s identification before releasing cargo to the driver.
• Match the driver’s identification to the driver and make sure that information is what was provided from the transportation partner’s information (and that the information came from a verified source).
• Verify the truck indicates the proper DOT and MC number, and that no stickers are being falsely employed on the truck.
• Make an additional call to verify that the motor carrier is legitimate and authorized to take the load.
• If anything is suspicious, do not release the load until the motor carrier/broker/shipper/freight forwarder has confirmed in writing the motor carrier and driver(s) is the right one.
• Document with video the complete transfer of the entire load to the motor carrier, and photograph the front, back and both sides of the truck and trailer, the driver’s license, the driver’s face, and all shipping documents.
• Have bailee’s or warehouse legal liability insurance coverage for your storage business that includes its stored property.
• Train warehouse staff to recognize red flags: unfamiliar drivers, altered documents, urgency to release. Create a written SOP for load release verification, including escalation steps.

Motor Carriers

• Regularly monitor your FMCSA information for spoofing/duplicates and report any suspicious repeated names and information to the FMCSA.
• Park and idle at secure locations and avoid higher crime areas to avoid cargo crime. Make sure that your handling of loaded vehicles complies with the requirements of your insurance policies, particularly regarding unattended vehicles.
• Do not take any loads from alleged transportation partners that require you to deliver to locations other than where the bill of lading specifies. Question changes in delivery instructions that occur after picking up the load. Report such activity to authorities and to the consignee and shipper.
• Confirm with the warehouseman the bill of lading you have is correct.
• Be aware of fraudulent brokers’ ability to mimic legitimate ones by text and email spoofs. Call your trusted contacts directly, especially if sudden changes in delivery directions are given.
• Take videos of receiving and delivering shipments in full and be sure that footage is retained.

Brokers

• Confirm identity via FMCSA, insurance, and verified contact info.
• Use trusted onboarding platforms (e.g., RMIS, MyCarrierPacket, Highway) with fraud detection.
• Require direct document uploads—never accept via email alone.
• Scrutinize paperwork for forgery; check MC changes and insurance updates.
• Avoid onboarding via email/text alone—verify by phone or video.
• Call back using known numbers—not those provided in initial contact.
• Watch for domain spoofing and impersonation (e.g., “.net” vs “.com”).
• Notify shipper and consignee of carrier identity and confirm alignment.
• Post loads only on secure platforms; monitor for unauthorized reposting.
• Confirm load details directly with shipper and consignee before assigning.
• Require carriers to affirm they won’t broker the load to others.
• Use GPS tracking or regular check calls to monitor transit.
• Use secure payment systems with multi-factor authentication.
• Include contract language voiding payment for misrepresentation or double brokering.
• Train teams to spot red flags (e.g., urgent requests, evasive behavior).
• Use TMS tools to flag duplicate MCs or suspicious patterns.
• Maintain a centralized fraud alert log and response protocol.

Sound like a lot? It could be. But the time invested in these safety protocols is time well-spent — and ultimately far less costly than the time and money you could otherwise lose. Whatever your role in the transportation of goods, establish standard operating procedures that are built around fraud prevention, detection, and response and train staff to follow them.

At Larson & Gaston, we hope you and your company stay safe and armed with careful practices such as those above.

¹https://www.nicb.org/prevent-fraud-theft/cargo-theft