Guest Blog: The Most Common Ways Freight Gets Stolen and How to Prevent It from Happening to You

6 min Read

Take a look at some of the most common ways freight gets stolen and how to prevent it from happening.

By: Molly Mangan, Senior Vice President of Sales, Echo Logistics

With so many high-value products shipped around the United States every day, it’s no surprise criminals target freight. Despite the logistics industry’s efforts to improve security, thieves still manage to steal everything from food, electronics, household goods, and valuable metals (such as copper.) What’s more, thieves are always looking for ways to evolve their methods and create new schemes. Here are three of the most common ways freight gets stolen:

Carrier Fraud – Impersonating Another Carrier

Carrier fraud, a form of identity theft, is when a fraudulent carrier poses as a different, legitimate carrier to steal a load. In this scenario, they’ll often make sure the truck that picks up the load displays the expected carrier’s information, further selling the scam.

Carrier Fraud – Posing as a Legitimate Carrier

Thieves will often use a made-up carrier company name and fake credentials to intercept shippers’ loads from being awarded to trustworthy carriers. These fraudulent carriers are then able to pick up—and thereby steal—entire truckloads.

Unsecured Trucks

Drivers need rest breaks and are required to take them per the Hours of Service (HOS) regulations, which means they can’t be on the road or with their truck at all times. Whenever a truck is left alone, it becomes vulnerable to theft.

How to Prevent Cargo Theft

There are several ways a shipper can prevent theft. Here are some tips:

  • Only use carriers your company or your 3PL has approved through a rigorous vetting process
  • Always verify information with your carrier or 3PL to ensure the trucking company’s name and motor carrier (MC) number on the truck cab or trailer match the information on the bill of lading (BOL)
  • If you work with a 3PL, research the company to ensure they are a legitimate partner
  • Consider using a driver’s license scanner to spot fake commercial driver’s licenses and ask drivers for two forms of ID to verify their identity
  • To prevent in-transit theft, you should establish and communicate security guidelines and load requirements for the carriers moving your freight (e.g., using certain locks, not leaving trailers unattended for a specific amount of time, parking overnight only in secure locations, or parking in positions that can prevent theft, such as facing the trailer door toward a fence or wall of a building to block anyone from opening the trailer)
  • Advise carriers to be especially vigilant while at rest areas within the first 50-100 miles from the pick-up location, because some thieves will survey shippers to see when carriers are picking up loads and then follow drivers to steal goods when the driver makes a stop
  • Pay extra attention to loads that may require a layover
  • Be wary of carriers willing to move a load for an extremely low rate

Echo Global Logistics takes cargo theft prevention very seriously. With a robust carrier vetting process and a dedicated compliance team, Echo can help reduce the risk shippers face from this issue. It also has a Targeted Commodity and High-Value Program, which sets the framework for how its operations teams and compliance department work with trusted carriers and reduce theft. Through these procedures, Echo can confirm that all carriers assigned to loads are regularly monitored for their authority, insurance, and compliance status. For any commodities deemed targeted or high value, Echo also takes additional steps to make sure these loads receive special attention.

If you’d like to know more about how to prevent cargo theft, click here to read the full blog on Echo’s website.

E2open and Echo Logistics are partnered together to help companies streamline logistics management. By integrating Echo’s Transportation Management System with e2open’s platform, clients have real-time access to Echo’s competitive freight rates and capacity, and advanced tracking capabilities for real-time visibility into the status of shipments. 

Latest

March 27, 2025

E2open Named a Leader in Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Transportation Management Systems for Third Consecutive Year

DALLAS – March 27, 2025 – E2open Parent Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ETWO), the connected supply chain SaaS platform with the largest multi-enterprise network, today announced that e2open has been positioned by Gartner as a Leader for the third consecutive year in the 2025 Magic Quadrant for Transportation Management Systems.

Read More
March 26, 2025

A Spirited Week for e2open

Spirit Week is a five-day celebration of e2open employees and the contributions they make toward our culture and success. This event takes place in all e2open offices around the globe, and it gives us all the chance to build each other up, praise our best and brightest stars, and celebrate the multicultural community that defines our company

Read More
March 26, 2025

E2open Introduces Innovations in Global Trade Compliance Technology to Help Companies Address New and Evolving Challenges

DALLAS – March 26, 2025 – E2open Parent Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ETWO), the connected supply chain SaaS platform with the largest multi-enterprise network, announces the launch of artificial intelligence (AI) tools across its Global Trade technology suite designed to ease compliance and increase productivity for clients. The step-level trade compliance and productivity enhancements, part of e2open’s latest technology release, go beyond embedded AI to unlock new levels of productivity, shortened cycle times, and compliance assurance for companies in a wide range of industries.

Read More
Subscribe to Receive e2open Updates

E2open Subscription Center

Interested in Learning More? Stay current with the latest e2open news – from company updates to thought-leadership pieces, and so much more!

Complete this form to subscribe to e2open updates.

Are you ready to boost your supply chain capabilities? Let's get started.

Let's Get Started