Avoiding road haulage scams in the USA

Compounding the challenge is the fact that the criminals in the USA increasingly do their homework, have time on their side and see road cargo theft as low risk and high reward. Today’s thieves are usually well prepared and will know when and where it is best to attack. They exploit the US supply chain’s complexity, with many contractors interacting across state and national borders.

Furthermore, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to avoiding road haulage scams. Supply chain members do not always have direct control or influence over others, for example an asset-free freight broker is unlikely to be able to influence the cargo collection procedures at a collection facility, nor might they be able to influence driver-vetting procedures at their sub-contracted trucking company.

Operational assessment

A good starting point to preventing road cargo theft in the USA is to understand operational requirements. This could include:

• Average volumes of cargo to be transported

• Typical collection and delivery locations

• Seasonal variations driven by demand (peak and trough)

• Average number of truckers available

• The intended use of load boards

• Confirmed cargo values are at or below customer contract limits before shipment acceptance and carrier assignment Understanding these needs will offer an opportunity to assess risks and set a robust strategy. This assessment will naturally be unique to each transport and logistics company and will result in different demands when managing security.

Operational demand will help in forming strategies such as manual versus automated processes. There might be an upfront and ongoing cost associated with automated systems, but these could be rationalised when comparing personnel hours to perform the task manually and assessing how good the manual process is.

Once an overarching strategy has been agreed, strong due diligence processes need to be set up.

Outsourcing could be another consideration where due diligence is concerned, again driven by demand.

In some cases, it might be sensible to narrow down the number of ‘approved’ trucking companies that are routinely used. Maintaining full due diligence on thousands of trucking companies is practically going to be more difficult than hundreds. It will be more difficult to spot the typically small changes in behaviour of a trucking company that is used infrequently.

Due diligence

Once an overarching strategy has been agreed, strong due diligence processes need to be set up. These processes will look different depending on the size of the company, but they should be proportionate to the assessed risk and always followed. A small number of individuals should be appointed with sufficient authority to make time-sensitive decisions. A clearly defined escalation procedure should be set up covering peak, out-of-hours and holiday periods to ensure 24/7/365 coverage

Examples of due diligence processes include the following:

• Screening and vetting – this can be manual and performed internally by trained personnel. It can also be outsourced entirely, or a hybrid solution can be introduced whereby a third-party solution provider closely interacts with the business to ensure best outcomes.

• Central databases – there are several central databases, such as those at Registry Monitoring Insurance Services (RMIS) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA/Safer), which can provide relevant risk-related information.

• Trucking company procedures – these can provide an added layer of security. Technology such as electronic logging devices (ELD) can be explored, however, legal advice should be taken on how to define the requirements contractually.

• Standard operating procedures – these can be set up to require trucking companies to provide a list of their tractor vehicle identification numbers (VIN), which can then be used to ensure that cargo is only released to the expected truck driver. While a VIN is preferable, something more basic such as the Motor Carrier number displayed on the tractor, the make and year of the tractor, and trailer number could add an additional layer of security.

• Rules-based approach – rules can be set up through the vetting process and by using available databases. For example, there can be a requirement that truckers have been in business for a minimum of 1 year and that business information cannot have been changed on the FMCSA website for at least 6 months. This helps to avoid fraudsters who have either just set up the business or who are impersonating a legitimate trucking company.

• Monitoring and response – there are many track-and-trace technologies that can provide an added deterrent. But it is important to consider how the data feed is being monitored, who is doing it and what a proportionate response to a breach will be. Criminals are known to carry out penetration testing and, if the response is not effective when a security alert is triggered they will typically act as if the technology did not exist.

Avoiding online fraud

The risk of fraudulent emails is a challenge for all businesses. The strategies employed by criminals are extremely effective, particularly in the absence of awareness training and software solutions.

Several approaches can be adopted to reduce the risk of being caught out by fraudulent business emails, the most important of which is vigilance. Without a sophisticated and expensive automated solution, it is vital to ensure that a robust manual procedure is in place to check and verify inbound email addresses, and to identify and question anomalies and changes to agreed plans. Personnel responsible for tendering cargo must have adequate awareness training and understand the escalation procedure.

Companies should also be wary of using load boards. These can attract criminals, so careful consideration should be given to the details being shown and how this might be attractive in the wrong hands. Companies should beware of unusually attractive offers, block capacity offerings and perform robust vetting on carriers outside the platform.

For companies which can afford them, there are many sophisticated information technology (IT) solutions which can be installed to work in parallel to business software such as Microsoft 365.They can:

• Spot typo squatting – criminals often make a small change to a recognised trucking company’s email address in the hope the change goes unnoticed.

• Identify bannering – criminals frequently create a new temporary email domain for correspondence and, once the cargo has been stolen, close it down.

• Block internet protocol (IP) addresses – criminals often work from another country so it is possible to block all email traffic, say, from countries outside the USA and its allies.

Much of the road cargo theft in the USA results from criminals posing as legitimate trucking companies using fraudulent websites, emails and documents.

First Published April 2025