When you look at the recent rise in cargo theft, the numbers don’t tell the whole story.

To be sure, there have been more thefts reported overall recently. Industry watchdog CargoNet reported 692 thefts documented by shippers, in Q3 2023, a 59% year-over-year increase from 2022.

Anecdotally, though, the nature of these thefts is also changing.

While more conventional direct theft of freight during transit still does occur, theft resulting from fraudulent activity has risen sharply in the last 18 months. This can include:

• Thieves calling third-party logistics providers and impersonating real carriers (often armed with convincingly real details about contacts at the carrier they’ve acquired from the internet), booking a load, hiring a different carrier (who has no idea they’re participating in a fraud) to pick it up and drop it off at a warehouse, then retrieving the stolen load from the warehouse.
• Thieves executing a version of the scam detailed above, but initiating it by booking the load in a provider’s online platform using stolen digital login credentials.
• In an even more recent development, as some carriers have exited the truckload market due to the current depressed rate environment, bad actors purchasing a real motor carrier — and all of their login credentials, contact information and passwords — and using it to book and steal a number of loads before anyone catches on that the carrier is no longer legitimate.

Cargo theft hasn’t just been increasing over the last year — it’s been evolving, too. Following are five effective strategies for avoiding cargo threats.

Share information openly. The vital first step in thwarting cargo thieves is knowing what kinds of threats are out there. And the only way this is possible is if shippers, carriers and providers across the supply chain are open with one another about what they’re facing.

A great way to start sharing cargo security information is by working with an organization like CargoNet, the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) or Overhaul, reporting any instances of fraud or theft your organization comes across. These data points are vital for watchdog organizations, as well as for ordinary shippers and carriers, to understanding what strategies thieves are using today.

Information sharing is a two-way street with these organizations, and you can also maintain memberships with them to benefit from their insights, resources and events even, if you don’t share your own data with all of them.

You can also make freight security a topic of conversation when meeting with colleagues at conferences and trade shows. Any opportunity to communicate openly about the threats you all face is a valuable one.

Vet and verify everyone you work with. A volatile provider landscape for truckload freight means you’re often going to see new faces behind the wheel and the dispatcher desk.

If you’re adding a new provider or carrier to your transportation network, find out as much as possible about them. Vet the identities of decision-makers and anyone who will have access to your freight data, and confirm the DOT numbers for their equipment. Vendors like Truckstop’s Registry Monitoring Insurance Service (RMIS) can help with carrier screening and verification.

Verification isn’t just important before you tender a load — it’s also vital when your provider shows up to pick up your freight. Make sure everyone at your facility is on the same page about verifying the identity of the driver and truck who have arrived to haul your shipment, including checking their CDL number. If you work with a third-party warehousing facility, it’s crucial that you make very clear that their personnel must take the same precautions.

Take cybersecurity seriously, for both technology and training. Just as freight thieves are evolving, so are the technologies put in place to identify and stop them. Ensure your organization is using the latest best practices for password security, identity verification (including multifactor authentication) and encryption.

The technology you choose is only as effective as the teams who use it. Constantly reinforce best practices and update your employees and coworkers about any changing procedures or protocols through regular cybersecurity trainings.

Work with carriers to keep freight on the road. Conventional, direct theft of freight still happens, and the best way to avoid it is to keep freight from stopping in vulnerable locations.

This can mean communicating to the driver who’s hauling your shipment that they shouldn’t make their first stop until they’ve traveled at least 200 miles from the origin facility. Most freight thieves looking to grab a trailer will give up after this distance. It can also mean scheduling shipments so they don’t run across weekends or over days when the driver will be out of service hours and the trailer will be stationary.

Direct theft is a crime of opportunity, and you can schedule with foresight to limit these opportunities.

Be proactive, not reactive. As we’ve seen, cargo thieves aren’t interested in letting you catch up to them. They’re working just as hard at innovating new methods as they are at stealing your freight.

Every step outlined above needs to be implemented before the worst happens, not just in response to a theft that’s already occurred. And best practices and protocols should be consistently monitored and updated. Starting a freight security steering committee in your own organization is a great way to make this a habit.

Freight security requires constant, collective effort. The more you can plan, collaborate and work together, the better chance you’ll have of keeping cargo safe in the long term. 

Jack Gerstner is senior vice president of coverage with Coyote Logistics.