Freight fraud costs the trucking industry billions per year. Learn about identity theft of carrier credentials, fictitious pickups, and how to verify carriers before tendering a load.
Freight fraud is an umbrella term for schemes that exploit the freight brokerage and trucking industry to steal cargo, money, or both. It ranges from identity theft of legitimate carrier credentials to fake brokers who collect loads and then disappear. The FBI and FMCSA have both flagged freight fraud as a growing threat.
A fraudster finds a legitimate carrier's MC and DOT numbers — both publicly available through FMCSA — and impersonates that carrier when booking loads. They use the real carrier's name, authority number, and reputation to get the load, then dispatch a driver with no affiliation to the real company.
A scammer books a load using a real or cloned MC number, picks up the freight, and then goes dark. The shipper's cargo is gone and the broker is left holding liability for a load they handed to an unknown party.
A person poses as a freight broker, collects load tenders from shippers, and "awards" them to carriers. The broker takes a fee or the full rate, the carrier hauls the load, and then no payment comes because the broker was never real.
FMCSA confirms that a carrier's authority is active. It cannot confirm that the dispatcher calling you is actually employed by that carrier. That gap is exactly what fraudsters exploit.
The only way to close it is to verify the identity of the actual person picking up your freight — matching a government ID to the face of the driver before the load goes on the truck.
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Run a Free Lookup →Industry estimates put freight fraud losses at over $1 billion per year in the United States, though many incidents go unreported. The FBI has identified it as a significant and growing threat.
Double brokering specifically involves re-brokering a load without consent. Freight fraud is broader — it includes carrier identity theft, fake brokers, fictitious pickups, and other schemes. All double brokering is fraud, but not all freight fraud is double brokering.
Liability depends on the facts. Brokers may be liable to shippers for placing loads with fraudulent carriers. Carriers who lose loads due to fraudulent booking may have claims against the broker. Always consult legal counsel after a fraud incident.
Report to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), the FMCSA, and your state's attorney general. Also file a police report. Document all communications and financial records before reporting.
Data sourced from FMCSA. For informational purposes only — consult legal counsel for compliance questions.