Carrier fraud and theft have become increasingly prevalent issues in the shipping industry. The culprits behind these illicit activities, namely virtual carriers, chameleon carriers and cargo theft rings, are becoming more cunning in their attempts to defraud unsuspecting drivers. This is particularly true for shipments containing high-value goods or items in your supply chain that can easily be sold on the black market.
Stakes are high when fraud happens. Incidents involving ransom demands or outright theft can lead to financial losses in the thousands, and potentially spiral into the millions due to hidden liabilities. With so much at stake, prevention is key to avoiding these types of incidents.
Risks of Cargo Fraud & Theft:
- Unseen liability when an unlicensed carrier pretends to be a valid carrier.
- Unseen risk when an unsafe carrier hides its poor safety rating.
- Having your freight held for ransom.
- Having your freight stolen and sold.
How UTS Helps with Theft Prevention
Theft rings tend to hire carriers that UTS would never use. To prevent this, and to give you peace of mind in transporting your cargo, we have put proactive procedures in place to protect you from potential cargo theft and fraud.
Verify Carriers
Work only with carriers that have six months of active DOT operating authority, at least one DOT inspection, a satisfactory safety rating or not-rated status with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and safety scores better than industry standards.
Filter Out Unsafe Carriers
Use a combination of third-party tools and internal checks to filter out unsafe carriers. Plus, when we tender a load we confirm that the person on the other end of the transaction is a verified employee of that carrier.
Advise You in Protecting Your Supply Chain
Encourage our clients to be vigilant during pickups:
(a) Ensure the carrier picking up the freight matches the one sent by UTS
(b) Check the driver’s ID
(c) If something about the pickup doesn’t seem right, don’t hesitate to hold the load while you contact UTS.
Track Theft Rates
Proactively track shipments for early detection of a theft attempt or other transit issues.
Protect High Value Goods
Additional safeguards for shipments of commodities at high risk of theft (copper, lumber, electronics, foods, robotics, consumer goods, etc.) or valued at more than $100,000.
Identify Threats
Block truckload load acceptance communications when the IP address is located outside of North America. (This prevents international theft rings from using credentials they’ve stolen from an approved carrier.)
Enact Precautionary Measures
Send a separate assignment confirmation email to the carrier once they have been awarded a load and do not release the pickup authorization number until the carrier’s driver is confirmed to be onsite at the shipper’s facility.
Read a Real-World Example
See how UTS protected a client from cargo theft by taking on an Armenian theft ring that used sophisticated techniques including identity theft and phone number spoofing.
