Sebastián Salgado · Author
April 23, 2026
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Freight Fraud Has Outpaced the Industry's Defenses Across the U.S., freight fraud has moved beyond an operational inconvenience into a systemic threat. Highway’s Q3 2025 Fraud Index confirmed what many logistics leaders already sense on the ground: fraud attempts have increased 219% year over year, with over 48,700 fake carrier identities flagged in a single quarter. Average losses per cargo theft have surged past $219,000, and double brokering is no longer the exception. It's common enough to reshape broker-shipper dynamics entirely. This is all happening against a volatile market backdrop. With spot rates tightening, broker bankruptcies increasing, and carrier exits mounting, shippers are being forced to seek out new capacity more often and more urgently. That is where much of the current fraud risk lives. Every new relationship presents an opportunity for imposters and bad actors to exploit legacy systems and outdated vetting processes. Why the Industry's Traditional Defenses Are No Longer Enough The most common carrier vetting workflows, FMCSA checks, insurance validation, basic onboarding documents, were designed for a different time. They confirm whether a carrier exists, not whether they are legitimate, active, and authorized for the shipment in question. Fraudsters have figured this out. Today’s scams range from spoofed emails that intercept freight before it moves, to carriers bidding on specialized lanes they are not certified to run, to seemingly valid insurance documents that are canceled hours after being submitted. In many cases, shippers are forced to choose between speed and certainty. That is exactly when fraud strikes. The reality is that risk enters the equation the moment a load is tendered, and verifying trust after the fact is already too late. What Experts Are Advising in 2025 The message is clear: fraud prevention today depends on digital security, procedural discipline, and identity verification across every touchpoint. Some of the core recommendations include: Implement multifactor authentication (MFA) across all systems and communications. Compromised inboxes are now the top attack vector. Use secure, authenticated links for rate confirmations instead of attachments that can be intercepted or spoofed. Continuously verify carrier identity even after onboarding, especially if contact or routing information changes. Review behavioral signals, not just documentation. Does this carrier normally operate on this lane? Is the volume or bid pattern unusual? Train teams to escalate suspicious changes, even under pressure. Most successful frauds happen because someone rushed through a change without verifying it. These steps are not just IT protocols. They are operational habits that high-trust supply chains are now building into daily workflows. How the Best Shippers Are Responding The shippers who have successfully reduced fraud risk are not doing it with more forms or longer processes. Instead, they are shifting their approach entirely: They verify identity first, before price or speed. This is not about rejecting new carriers. It is about ensuring every participant in your network is verifiably who they say they are. They treat fraud prevention as infrastructure, not a last-mile task. It is embedded in the systems they use to tender loads and evaluate bids. They rely on platforms and workflows that evolve, instead of static checklists that fraudsters already know how to bypass. This is why many now prioritize technologies that integrate live data, AI-powered behavior scoring, and real-time carrier monitoring. More importantly, they have created a culture where operational speed never overrides identity certainty. Learn more about Asset Carrier vs. Broker Performance Scorecard: 5 Metrics That Matter Beyond Rate.
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