How Sophisticated Scams are Outpacing Industry Defenses

Originally appeared in InsuranceBusinessMag.com

 

By Chris Davis

Jan 05, 2026

Cargo theft is no longer a crime of opportunity - it’s a coordinated, evolving operation that’s quietly siphoning millions from freight brokers, shippers, and carriers. According to Chad Eichelberger (pictured), president of Reliance Partners, the industry is facing an unprecedented wave of fraud, marked not just by its scale but by its sophistication.

 

“The fraud that’s going on in the space right now is at epidemic levels,” Eichelberger said. “Compared to what we witnessed in the past, it’s evolved dramatically.”

 

What was once a straightforward truck-stop heist has morphed into a series of scams involving identity theft, cyber intrusion, and even the resale of active motor carrier authorities. One tactic gaining ground involves targeting smaller carriers nearing closure. Bad actors approach these carriers - often via social media - with offers to buy their credentials, including login information for load boards and freight brokerage platforms.

 

“All I really want... I want your authority. I want your login credentials,” said Eichelberger. “If you've got any logins to freight broker websites, I don't want to have to start all over.”

 

No paperwork, no contracts - just money exchanged through PayPal or Venmo, and instant access to a trusted carrier profile. From there, the fraudster impersonates the motor carrier, gaining access to loads they have no intention of delivering.

 

Sophisticated scams, staggering losses

 

Many of these operations run parallel networks of fraudulent authorities, some of which operate legitimately for a period to build trust. Eventually, the actors rotate in compromised identities to start stealing freight. In one recurring scheme, a carrier picks up electronics from a California warehouse, then reroutes the trailer to a secondary location within 30 to 60 miles.

 

“These trailers... the hinges of the trailers are reversed to make it very easy to take them off,” Eichelberger said. “Both doors come off the trailer. You can then remove the product, leave a couple of pallets, reprint a new bill of lading, and finish delivering it.”

 

The seal remains intact, and, on paper, everything appears legitimate. By the time the shortfall is discovered - often weeks or months later - the product is already gone and the brokers have paid the criminals. “It can go on for months at a time before somebody... recognizes, hey, we don’t have any product,” he said.

 

Eichelberger recalled situations where both the broker and the motor carrier were Reliance clients, and untangling the fraud meant dissecting internal systems to determine whose credentials were compromised.

 

“Oftentimes... they’re both pointing at each other,” he said. “But a lot of times, somebody compromised one of the other's credentials and picked up a load under false pretenses.

 

Carrier vetting tools under pressure

 

”New tech tools have emerged to counter these tactics - carrier vetting platforms, IP geolocation monitoring, identity verification processes - but the pace of criminal innovation remains relentless.

 

“There are these carrier vetting services out there... looking for ownership that's shared across multiple motor carriers, that's a red flag,” said Eichelberger. “Any type of overseas activity... that's going to be a red flag.”

 

Other red flags include shared IP addresses, use of voice-over-IP numbers, and login attempts from unexpected regions. But none of these systems are foolproof.

 

“For every win... these bad actors are finding another way to pivot and attack from a different angle,” he said.

 

Insurers are responding by tightening underwriting processes. Carriers and brokers are now expected to demonstrate robust risk management protocols, particularly for high-value freight.

 

“Can somebody sign up today and get a load from you tomorrow? That’s a red flag,” said Eichelberger. “The freight brokers that are able to operate in more of a closed loop network... that always is preferred.”

 

He added that many insurers are looking more favorably at brokers who work with a static pool of trusted carriers rather than sourcing from public load boards.

 

A shift in underwriting and cyber risk

 

Traditional underwriting has relied on loss history and paper-based submissions. That model is fading.

 

“We started to see a lot of these insurtechs... leveraging ELD data, driver behavior,” Eichelberger said. “Even your traditional underwriters have adopted a lot of those same tools.”

 

This includes checking for unreported vehicles and validating unit counts to ensure policies are priced correctly. Underwriters are also using data to work with carriers on safety improvements and driver training.

 

“Now they're putting the data back into the hands of the trucking company and working with them to change driver behavior,” he said.

 

Cyber risks are also becoming a more frequent cause of insurance claims. Eichelberger described cases where email systems were breached and fraudsters waited silently in inboxes before altering insurance proposals to redirect down payments.

 

“They edited a proposal... spoofed an email address, and changed the wiring instructions,” he said. “That has nothing to do with cargo. Somebody getting into your email... and redirecting the funds to their account.”

 

Even small carriers aren’t immune, and Eichelberger urged them to adopt multi-factor authentication and purchase cyber insurance, which remains relatively affordable for single-truck operations.

 

No immunity for even the largest brokers

 

Despite tightening protocols and improved technology, the reality remains: no-one is immune.

 

“Nobody is bulletproof,” Eichelberger said. “Even the top 20 brokers in the marketplace - I would wager... they’ve had a load stolen in the past 12 months, if not dozens.”