As the holiday season approaches and freight volumes increase, shippers face an even higher risk of fraud. Incidents of fraud are increasing rapidly industry-wide, and risks only increase as we approach the holiday season. Social impersonators often pretend to be carriers, drivers, or brokerage staff. Their goal is to gain access to freight by appearing legitimate in a variety of different ways.
Why the increase during the holidays in particular? Scammers tend to target high-value shipments when shipper teams are busiest. These scammers collect information about shipment locations, carrier lanes, employee names, and load details. When they gather enough information, they can show up at a pickup location and appear credible.
Some scammers also use emails as their fraud tactic of choice. They’ll send emails designed to install remote monitoring tools. If a shipper clicks these links, the tool can compromise accounts or hijack a carrier profile. This gives scammers full access to contacts and conversations, allowing them to blend in and get internal teams to trust them, which gains them access to your cargo.
According to data from CargoNet’s Q3 Supply Chain Risk Trends Analysis, California, Texas, and New Jersey experience the highest levels of social impersonation fraud. These three states represent 58.3 percent of all freight thefts in 2025. The estimated combined loss value is more than 111,879,344 dollars. Shippers operating in these regions should increase awareness and strengthen verification processes.
How FWF Protects Your Freight
Fifth Wheel Freight protects shippers by strategically and systematically controlling access to sensitive information. By focusing on safegaurding details about shipments, we limit the opportunities for bad actors to exploit them. During the holiday season-when impersonation attempts and “too-good-to-be true” offers spike- we rely on disciplined information control and strong verification standards to keep freight movements secure.
Other tactics used to safeguard your freight:
- High-value load monitoring: Shipments containing high-value commodities are being individually vetted and tracked daily by the Compliance department, in addition to all of our standard compliance procedures.
- Insurance gap vetting: We’ve expanded our compliance checks to include commodities not covered by a carrier’s insurance, significantly cutting down on denied claims.
- Preferred Carrier Program: FWF audits all top carriers annually, highlighting those who consistently perform to our standards, and finding ways to prioritize them on more of our freight.
All of these practices have helped FWF maintain our under 0.5% claims rate across all shipments for nearly 5 years.
Fraud Prevention Checklist
For Shippers & Receivers:
- Inspect trucks at pickup and look for warning signs. These signs could include zip tied plates, reversed hinge bolts, mismatched VINS, or poor maintenance indicators.
- Verify the driver’s identity and carrier information. Match the driver’s name and company with the information on the BOL.
- Document photos of the truck and seal numbers at both pickup and delivery. This documentation creates a verified record of freight.
- Watch for urgency cues. Fraudsters apply pressure by insisting that a load must move immediately. FWF and other reputable brokers will never push a shipper to bypass necessary verification steps.
For Brokers:
- Avoid driver substitutions. Never share freight information with any driver, carrier, or vehicle that is not authorized.
- Supplement standard compliance procedures with additional monitoring for high-value shipments.
- Shippers who verify email senders and confirm rate details significantly reduce the risk of these attacks from happening.
Frequently Asked Questions: Freight Fraud
What is freight fraud and how does it work?
Freight fraud occurs when bad actors impersonate carriers, drivers, or brokerage staff to gain unauthorized access to shipments. Common tactics include social impersonation at pickup locations, phishing emails designed to install remote monitoring tools, and hijacking legitimate carrier profiles to blend into existing communications. Once scammers have enough details like shipment locations, carrier lanes, employee names, and load specifics, they can appear credible enough to take possession of cargo.
Why does freight fraud increase during the holiday season?
Freight fraud spikes during the holidays because scammers target high-value shipments when shipper teams are at their busiest and are potentially more distracted. Higher freight volumes, tighter timelines, and increased pressure to move loads quickly create gaps in verification, which is something fraudsters look for.
What are the warning signs of a fraudulent carrier at pickup?
Red flags to watch for at pickup include zip-tied license plates, reversed hinge bolts, mismatched VINs, and poor vehicle maintenance. Always verify the driver’s identity and carrier information against the bill of lading, and document photos of the truck and seal numbers at both pickup and delivery.
How can shippers protect themselves from freight fraud?
Shippers can reduce risk by verifying driver and carrier information at pickup, documenting trucks and seal numbers with photos, watching for urgency pressure tactics, and confirming all email senders before clicking links or sharing load details. Any offer that seems too good to be true warrants extra scrutiny.
What is Fifth Wheel Freight’s claims rate?
FWF has maintained an under 0.5% claims rate across all shipments for nearly five years, supported by high-value load monitoring, insurance gap vetting, and an annual Preferred Carrier Program audit.
What does FWF do differently to prevent freight fraud?
FWF uses disciplined information control to limit bad actors’ access to sensitive shipment data. During peak seasons, the FWF Compliance Department individually vets and tracks high-value shipments daily, expanded insurance gap checks reduce denied claims, and the Preferred Carrier Program ensures top-performing carriers are prioritized on freight.
