Cargo security critical as holiday spike in strategic theft approaches

The 4th of July weekend is nearly here, and you know what that means: Fireworks, frosty beverages…and another holiday explosion of freight fraud. Crime syndicates know that when you’re lightly staffed or your receiver is closed for business, they’ve got a bigger window to fence your load. It’s an enticing time to strike, and they will.

Meaning, robust cargo security is critical—especially. right. now.

So, do you want the good news first—or the bad news?

Things are rough right now. Let’s start with the good: CargoNet analysts recently reported a 7% year-over-year decline in theft activity for Q1 2025.

The bad news?

While identity fraud reports dropped by 44%, the decline, according to CargoNet, “doesn’t necessarily indicate a reduction in criminal activity but rather a shift in methodology. CargoNet analysis suggests many fraudulent activities now incorporate business email compromise (BEC) techniques, where thieves gain unauthorized access to legitimate business email accounts to impersonate companies and intercept shipment tenders.”

This tactic is far more difficult for businesses to identify—and that boosts success rates for crime syndicates. Meaning, that the strategic theft pervasive in our industry is growing increasingly sophisticated, and we must all remain on high alert.

And once a load is stolen, recovery rates are shockingly low.

What a stolen load could mean for your business

If you’re the victim of a theft, the damage to your business will extend far beyond the cost of the stolen freight. Your business reputation can take a hit as customers are left without the product they were counting on, creating potential stockouts or dramatic disruptions to their supply chains.

And when cargo theft occurs, there could be limited to no recovery for the loss if unexpected insurance exclusions come into play without more comprehensive coverage in place.

So, now it’s a double-whammy—the loss of the original equipment, plus the replacement costs to reproduce it. That’s particularly painful for high-value loads of specialized machinery that could take a month to manufacture.

A cargo theft close call: These guys are sneaky

Okay, so we said loads are difficult to recover, and that’s true. But we wanted to share one story a fellow logistics broker shared with us privately. This one has a happy ending, but it helps illustrate the challenge.

The rep booked a load in Los Angeles bound for San Francisco. He thoroughly vetted the legitimate carrier, and everything looked good. Unbeknownst to him, however, a fraudulent carrier caught wind of the load. How, he doesn’t know.

The thief wrapped his truck and placed the legitimate carrier’s logos all over the unit and trailer, so it looked like the correct carrier was pulling up to the dock.

When the driver arrived, he presented a driver’s license, and the shipper took a picture of the truck and license plate before they loaded, as instructed. But instead of heading north for the Bay Area, the trucker drove 10 miles down the road and dropped the freight at a local warehouse, where it was to be picked up by a second driver participating in the fraud.

It was only because the warehouse worker was confused by the drop and called the broker, that they were able to turn away the second driver and recover their freight.

Boost your cargo security strategies from good to great

Even two years ago, those of us in logistics were educating many shippers about the scope and scale of the cargo theft threat. Things have changed. Strategic theft has grown unchecked—so much so that it’s making news outside the freight industry trade press.

Shippers are now far more alert and prepared—and we’re seeing good cargo security work being done. That said, there are always ways to improve.

Here are the opportunities we spot and share most often.

Address your data

• Carefully review your data security measures, ensuring you’re using the most advanced data security solutions available and regularly updating and patching systems and applications
• Secure your login credentials with a password manager—including those you use to log into load boards—and protect them with two-factor authentication (2FA)
• Regularly deliver data security training to your team so they know how to generate secure passwords, spot phishing attacks, and use VPNs

Tighten up processes at your dock

• Ensure you and your warehouse workers are clear on which carrier will be arriving at your location and make sure the driver and rig that show up align
• Capture rich information from the driver who walks through your door—name, contact information, and a photo of their driver’s license
• Take photos of the truck and trailer that pulls up to your dock, including plate and MC numbers

Lastly—and this is important—develop deep relationships with your freight industry partners. In this environment, trust and transparent communication are key to keeping your freight safe.

How we do our part: Holistic cargo security strategies

We take the time necessary to understand our customers’ business models and commodities, while also ensuring they have a thorough awareness of the risk to their freight, our carrier vetting procedures, and our cargo security protocols.

Leveraging a suite of cutting-edge technology platforms, we then empower our veteran team to:

• Verify the carrier has been active for one year or more and has undergone at least one FMCSA inspection
• Confirm the people our team interacts with are who they say they are—matching both the FMCSA Motor Carrier Identification Report (MCS) and contact information registered by the motor carrier
• Compare contact emails to the carrier’s domain to ensure they match
• Ensure the Certificate of Insurance (COI) is valid and the driver is listed on the cargo insurance

We also assess each load for heightened theft risk potential, like high-value electronics and pharmaceuticals or highly targeted consumable products, like craft beer. If we’re moving something that carries elevated risk, we layer in additional carrier vetting protocols—and we add contingent cargo insurance on top of our existing coverage to protect against that added risk exposure.

Lastly, we partner with an experienced IT managed services provider to mitigate any potential data security vulnerabilities.

Any logistics company you partner with should be doing the same.

Be sure to ask.

Lock it down, find greater peace of mind

The freight industry is awash in fraud. With highly sophisticated crime syndicates operating overseas to escape accountability, it creates a low-risk, high-reward situation for them.

That’s why the time you take now to re-evaluate your security measures is time well spent—and the trusted relationships you build with seasoned, security-focused logistics teams can be invaluable in helping you protect against loss.

This holiday weekend, the only thing that should be blowing up is your fireworks display.