By: Molly Mangan, Senior Vice President of Sales, Echo Logistics
With so many high-value products shipped around the United States every day, it’s no surprise criminals target freight. Despite the logistics industry’s efforts to improve security, thieves still manage to steal everything from food, electronics, household goods, and valuable metals (such as copper.) What’s more, thieves are always looking for ways to evolve their methods and create new schemes. Here are three of the most common ways freight gets stolen:
Carrier Fraud – Impersonating Another Carrier
Carrier fraud, a form of identity theft, is when a fraudulent carrier poses as a different, legitimate carrier to steal a load. In this scenario, they’ll often make sure the truck that picks up the load displays the expected carrier’s information, further selling the scam.
Carrier Fraud – Posing as a Legitimate Carrier
Thieves will often use a made-up carrier company name and fake credentials to intercept shippers’ loads from being awarded to trustworthy carriers. These fraudulent carriers are then able to pick up—and thereby steal—entire truckloads.
Unsecured Trucks
Drivers need rest breaks and are required to take them per the Hours of Service (HOS) regulations, which means they can’t be on the road or with their truck at all times. Whenever a truck is left alone, it becomes vulnerable to theft.
How to Prevent Cargo Theft
There are several ways a shipper can prevent theft. Here are some tips:
- Only use carriers your company or your 3PL has approved through a rigorous vetting process
- Always verify information with your carrier or 3PL to ensure the trucking company’s name and motor carrier (MC) number on the truck cab or trailer match the information on the bill of lading (BOL)
- If you work with a 3PL, research the company to ensure they are a legitimate partner
- Consider using a driver’s license scanner to spot fake commercial driver’s licenses and ask drivers for two forms of ID to verify their identity
- To prevent in-transit theft, you should establish and communicate security guidelines and load requirements for the carriers moving your freight (e.g., using certain locks, not leaving trailers unattended for a specific amount of time, parking overnight only in secure locations, or parking in positions that can prevent theft, such as facing the trailer door toward a fence or wall of a building to block anyone from opening the trailer)
- Advise carriers to be especially vigilant while at rest areas within the first 50-100 miles from the pick-up location, because some thieves will survey shippers to see when carriers are picking up loads and then follow drivers to steal goods when the driver makes a stop
- Pay extra attention to loads that may require a layover
- Be wary of carriers willing to move a load for an extremely low rate
Echo Global Logistics takes cargo theft prevention very seriously. With a robust carrier vetting process and a dedicated compliance team, Echo can help reduce the risk shippers face from this issue. It also has a Targeted Commodity and High-Value Program, which sets the framework for how its operations teams and compliance department work with trusted carriers and reduce theft. Through these procedures, Echo can confirm that all carriers assigned to loads are regularly monitored for their authority, insurance, and compliance status. For any commodities deemed targeted or high value, Echo also takes additional steps to make sure these loads receive special attention.
If you’d like to know more about how to prevent cargo theft, click here to read the full blog on Echo’s website.
E2open and Echo Logistics are partnered together to help companies streamline logistics management. By integrating Echo’s Transportation Management System with e2open’s platform, clients have real-time access to Echo’s competitive freight rates and capacity, and advanced tracking capabilities for real-time visibility into the status of shipments.
