Freight fraud and trucking scams: how to spot them
Freight fraud takes money from carriers, brokers and shippers alike, and a small trucking company can't afford to lose even one load. Here's how the common trucking scams work, the warning signs, and what to do if it happens to you.
Why we wrote this
We are a carrier-first company, and fraud is one of the fastest ways a small carrier goes under. One stolen load, one unpaid invoice, or one hijacked identity can wipe out a month of work.
This page explains the schemes in general terms. It doesn't name or accuse any company. If you believe a specific company has wronged you, report it through the channels below. A complaint is an allegation until it's proven.
Common freight scams
Double brokering
A party takes a load, then re-brokers it to another carrier without the shipper's or original broker's knowledge. The carrier who hauls it may never be paid, because the party who booked them disappears with the money. Read our deeper look at double brokering and chameleon carriers.
Chameleon carriers
A company shut down or under scrutiny reappears under a new name and new registration to keep operating while hiding its history. To a broker or shipper it looks like a brand-new company.
Identity theft and impersonation
Someone uses another company's name, USDOT number or MC number, often with a look-alike email address or a changed phone number, to book loads or collect payment. FMCSA calls using another carrier's USDOT number without authorization a criminal act. FMCSA guidance.
Cargo diversion
A load is picked up by someone posing as the assigned carrier, or rerouted mid-trip, and the freight never reaches the receiver. FMCSA warns to check that the truck and trailer at pickup match the ones contracted.
Fake rate confirmations
A forged or altered rate confirmation shows a rate, broker or payment terms that aren't real. The carrier hauls the load and finds out at billing time that nobody agreed to pay. Our rate confirmation checklist shows what to check first.
Phishing and account takeover
Fake emails and texts send you to a look-alike login page for a load board, factoring account or government portal. Once a scammer has your login, they can book loads or redirect payments as you.
Warning signs
Several of these come straight from FMCSA's fraud guidance. One sign alone isn't proof, but it's a reason to stop and verify.
- The rate is far above the market for that lane, or the broker agrees to more money very quickly.
- The phone number you were given doesn't match the one in FMCSA's SAFER system, or SAFER shows no phone number.
- You're asked to haul under a different company name, or to have your driver say they work for someone else.
- The destination is withheld until after pickup (a 'blind load').
- The email domain is slightly off, uses a free email account where a business domain is expected, or changed mid-conversation.
- The truck or trailer at pickup doesn't match the one contracted.
- Insurance certificates or other documents can't be confirmed with the insurer or agent who supposedly issued them.
- You're asked to change payment details, or to pay a fee up front to get a load.
What to do if it happens to you
Stop and verify
Don't load, don't release freight, and don't send money until you've called the broker or shipper on a phone number you looked up yourself, such as the one in FMCSA's SAFER Company Snapshot.
Save everything
Keep the rate confirmation, emails with full headers, texts, call logs, bills of lading, photos and GPS records. You'll need them for every report.
If you hauled a load that was double brokered
FMCSA suggests asking who is paying for the freight and asking to speak with their brokerage. The real broker may also be a victim.
Report it
File with FMCSA's Complaint Center. FMCSA also points victims to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, local police, and your state attorney general. Our article on how to file a complaint against a freight broker walks through the FMCSA process.
Tell the people who rely on your identity
Notify your insurer, your factoring company and the load boards you use. If your identity was used, tell your customers through your website or social media, as FMCSA recommends.
File with FreightBrokerComplaint.com
FreightBrokerComplaint.com takes carrier complaints about unpaid charges, double brokering, impersonation and cargo diversion. Filing is free. We open a case, investigate, and contact the broker on your behalf at no charge. Complaints stay allegations until the facts are checked, and findings are never published. How freight broker complaints work.
Keep your own company hard to copy
Treat your company information the way you treat your bank account, as FMCSA puts it. Make sure the phone number in your SAFER Company Snapshot is visible and correct, since that's what careful brokers check.
FMCSA has launched a new registration system, Motus, that it says adds identity verification and assigns new USDOT and docket numbers at random, so new numbers can't be predicted. Existing numbers don't change. See FMCSA's announcement.
For more on how carrier data gets exposed, read our article on carrier verification and driver data privacy.
- Use an email address on your own company domain if you can; brokers treat a matching domain as one sign you're real, not as proof
- Turn on two-step login for load boards, email and factoring
- Limit who can change payment details
- Check your SAFER listing every few months
Owed money or had your identity used?
FreightBrokerComplaint.com takes carrier complaints about unpaid charges, double brokering, impersonation and cargo diversion.
Questions and answers
Does LFS name companies accused of fraud?
No. We explain how schemes work. Complaints are allegations until proven, and we don't publish findings about specific companies.
How can I check a broker before I haul?
Look the broker up in FMCSA's SAFER Company Snapshot, call the number listed there (not the one in the email), and confirm the details on the rate confirmation match. Our article on what to look for in a freight broker has more.
Related
Scammed or not paid by a freight broker? File a complaint, free
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Chameleon Carriers and Double Brokering: How They Work and How to Spot Them
How chameleon carriers and double brokering schemes work, the public-record warning signs to check before every load, and where to report freight fraud.
How to File a Complaint Against a Freight Broker
How to file a complaint against a freight broker: the FMCSA Complaint Center, bond claims, and free help when a broker won't pay.
How Carriers Stop Freight Fraud and Handle Four Other Threats
How carriers stop freight fraud, and how to handle insurance problems, driver issues, starting in the wrong order and cash flow gaps.
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Free resources for trucking companies
These guides are free, written for owners of small trucking companies, and built around one question: what does this mean for your truck and your cash?
Questions about a load that doesn't look right?
Tell us what happened. We'll point you to the right place to report it. If you need to file a complaint, use FreightBrokerComplaint.com.
Prefer the phone? Call 901-205-9679.