Shipping Fraud: Warning Signs and Practical Checks

What Shipping Fraud Can Look Like

This guide focuses on truckload freight. A person may impersonate a carrier to obtain shipment details, redirect a legitimate payment, or arrange a pickup under a misleading company identity. A forged document can support the story. One irregularity deserves review, but it does not establish that someone committed fraud.

Start With the Company Behind the Load

A familiar logo or valid company number does not establish that the person contacting you represents that business. FMCSA’s broker and carrier fraud guidance recommends checking contact numbers against SAFER and calling the listed number when information differs. Document who confirmed the shipment and what they confirmed.

Check the Pickup Details

Before release, compare the expected carrier, driver, truck, and trailer with the pickup information your team approved. Set a clear process for substitutions. If details change, have a designated person review the change and record the decision. Give the pickup facility a contact who can resolve questions while the truck is still there.

Treat Payment Changes as a Separate Decision

The FBI’s business email compromise guidance advises independently verifying changes to payment instructions. An urgent request in an existing email thread still deserves that check. Keep the shipment review and payment approval connected, while making clear who can authorize each action.

Understand Double-Brokering Risks

When a load changes hands without the original parties understanding who will haul it, both delivery coordination and payment can become disputed. Authorized arrangements between brokers are a different situation. Our double-brokering guide explains the distinction and the questions to raise.

Build a Record That Supports Follow-Up

Keep the tender, agreed pickup details, messages, photos, tracking events, and delivery documents together. Record unresolved questions separately from confirmed facts. A location update shows a device’s reported position; it does not independently establish who possesses the cargo. Review it alongside the shipment’s other records.

How CargoGuard Fits

CargoGuard supports driver checks using license, selfie, and registration information, truck photos, five-second GPS tracking, shipment alerts, and delivery document capture. These tools help brokers review a shipment and follow up on discrepancies. They do not replace carrier due diligence or guarantee that fraud will be prevented. Explore the CargoGuard features relevant to your workflow.

What to Do When Something Does Not Match

Assign someone to investigate, contact the known shipment parties, and preserve the original records. Decide whether release or payment needs to pause under your company’s procedures. If you suspect theft or fraud, use the reporting contacts in the FMCSA guidance and involve your insurer or advisers as appropriate. Avoid accusing a driver or carrier solely because a record is incomplete.