How the Freight Industry Is Fighting Back Against Fraud
Amazon and other industry players are deploying identity verification, AI monitoring, and law enforcement partnerships to combat a spike in deceptive freight pickup schemes.
By Ashley Prince | June 8, 2026
Emerging technologies, including AI and machine learning, have changed the face of freight fraud. These advances have armed both companies and criminals with new ways of operating.
Today’s thieves are a lot less likely to break into a trailer at a truck stop, instead opting to book the load themselves under false pretenses.
Overhaul’s Q1 2026 U.S. Cargo Theft Report highlighted this evolving nature. On the whole, U.S. cargo theft incidents fell 25% from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026. While this looks positive on paper, it is a smaller decrease than the 34% drop between Q4 2024 and Q1 2025.
An increase in deceptive pickup schemes involving forged credentials and fake identities is largely responsible for that narrowing gap. According to the report, these instances jumped 31% year-over-year.
“The growth in deceptive pickup schemes tells us that organized networks are investing in fraud infrastructure,” said Barry Conlon, Overhaul’s CEO. “When criminals are forging identities and impersonating carriers, a padlock on a trailer isn’t going to stop them.”
During the first quarter of 2026, companies reported an average of 6.4 theft incidents per day. While California (36%) and Texas (17%) continue to see the highest percentage of issues, Illinois saw incidents jump from 6% of national incidents in Q1 2025 to 13% this year.
Electronics were the most likely cargo to be stolen, accounting for 17% of all thefts. Auto parts, however, surged 142% from Q4 2025 and 51% year-over-year.
While these numbers are helpful for identifying trends, they may not paint the full picture. These figures only capture what gets reported. Industry estimates put the real number six to seven times higher.
How Amazon Tackles Fraud
Amazon published a detailed breakdown of how its freight network handles fraud. Before a carrier hauls a load through Amazon Relay, the company’s proprietary carrier booking platform, they clear a vetting process that includes operating authority verification, business affiliation analysis, safety record review, and real-time photo checks and driver’s license validation for every driver. Carriers need an active DOT number with at least 180 days of interstate authority, FMCSA ratings of “Satisfactory” or “None,” and at least $1 million in commercial general liability coverage. Amazon then layers its own Violation Rate Metrics framework on top of all of that.
Once freight is moving, smart trailer technology tracks GPS and sensor data in real time. Door openings, route deviations, and unplanned stops trigger alerts to Amazon’s security team. Virtual geofences validate that pickups and drop-offs happen where and when they’re supposed to.
Amazon also employs former FBI and CIA professionals and participates in 14 different state-run organized retail crime task forces. One investigation led to the dismantling of a criminal syndicate and 13 arrests tied to $83 million in theft. Another produced a federal indictment on 13 counts of wire fraud for stealing carrier identities and submitting fraudulent invoices.
Tech Companies Innovate Against Theft
Highway, a carrier identity platform, blocked nearly 2 million fraudulent email attempts and 8.5 million spoofed phone numbers in 2025. The platform cross-references DOT and MC data, insurance records, and behavioral signals to flag double brokering and identity theft before a load is tendered.
Vetting a carrier on paper doesn’t confirm who shows up at the dock. Verified Carrier’s Verified Pickup, launched in April, addresses that gap. Once a carrier is onboarded, drivers complete identity verification and are tied to the carrier’s profile. When a truck arrives at a facility, the system pulls the license plate and matches it against fleet records. The shipper scans the driver’s QR code or license and gets real-time confirmation that the carrier, driver, and equipment all match.
“The industry has invested heavily in verifying motor carriers at onboarding, but that’s only half the equation,” said Alex Panfilov, Verified Carrier’s founder and CEO. “Verified Pickup completes the circle. We can now confirm in real time that the verified motor carrier sent an authorized, verified driver in a confirmed truck to pick up that specific load. That full-circle verification has never existed before.”
One brokerage that integrated the tool for freight moving through high-risk states reported zero fraud or loss events for those shipments afterward.
Counting the Losses
CargoNet put voluntarily reported cargo theft losses at $725 million for 2025. Given how much goes unreported, the actual number is almost certainly far larger.
The problem can seem daunting, especially for companies without enterprise-level resources. Smaller brokerages and carriers don’t have the means to implement the layered vetting and real-time tracking systems that Amazon or a major 3PL can deploy.
That said, companies across the industry are recognizing that carrier vetting at onboarding isn’t enough. As organizations continue to roll out new anti-fraud solutions, the gap between who books a load and who picks it up will get more difficult to exploit.
The industry’s best defense against fraud is continued collaboration and keeping open lines of communication between players.