Cargo Theft Incidents Fall as Thieves Target Higher-Value Freight

By Ashley Prince | October 30, 2026

While reported cargo theft incidents have dropped this year, losses are on the rise. This gap can be explained by a handful of high-value thefts and criminal groups that are getting better at choosing their targets.

Verisk CargoNet recorded 677 theft incidents across the United States and Canada in Q2 2026, down 26% year-over-year. Estimated losses more than doubled over the same period, from $135.7 million to $304.6 million.

Part of that jump comes from a few outliers. Several thefts in the first half of the year involved data center and server equipment, according to David Mitsui, Director of Risk and Compliance Operations at Total Quality Logistics (TQL). 

CargoNet’s average value among Q2 thefts reached $564,009, a figure the company notes was heavily influenced by a small number of multimillion-dollar losses. Enterprise computing and networking equipment can be worth several million dollars per shipment, but it often moves as ordinary dry freight. CargoNet also recorded 80 metal thefts in Q2, up from 54 a year earlier.

When the top end of a typical theft sits around $1 million to $1.5 million, a few losses in the $20 million range skew the numbers.

“If it is a desirable commodity, which it is, that’s going to be what they go after,” Mitsui said.

Criminal groups will still steal almost anything they can move, but Mitsui said organized crews have gotten good at predicting what a load contains based on where it’s coming from. 

“These guys are still really good at what they do, and it’s their full-time job,” David Mitsui said.

The Redirect

TQL is tracking an emerging fraud scheme known as “the redirect.” In these cases, every party on the load is legitimate. Thieves find a way in by obtaining driver-level information through a compromised inbox or social engineering a broker’s staff. They then contact the driver while impersonating the shipper or broker, often from a spoofed number, and send the freight to a different warehouse.

Thieves sitting in an inbox will often wait for a high-value shipment, such as copper or electronics, before they act, according to Mitsui.

CargoNet identified business email compromise as the primary access point for many of Q2’s most sophisticated schemes. Shipment misdirection held steady even as other non-delivery fraud declined.

TQL now tells drivers upfront to call before changing a delivery location for any reason. 

While companies should be aware of these newer tactics, Mitsui was clear that fresh schemes don’t mean old ones just go away.

“They’re adding tools to their tool belt,” Mitsui said. “They’re not replacing their core.”

The Role of Technology

Technology plays a growing role in helping companies fight back against fraud. Mitsui believes any tool a company is using to strengthen its security is a net positive, but he cautioned against becoming too reliant on tech. This is because automating a process requires firm business rules, and bad actors can stress-test and exploit those rules. 

According to Mitsui, TQL automates as much as it can, while finishing every process with a human.

The most effective technology is data. A bad actor can buy a trucking company, along with its phone numbers and email accounts, but they cannot buy that carrier’s history. Data is protective because it reveals the types of freight a company typically books and the IP addresses it uses.

When it comes to prevention, technology also cannot take the place of human collaboration.

The groups behind these schemes, many based outside the United States, run like corporations with staff working scams full time, according to Mitsui. He urged companies to share information with each other and to case-study every incident to find out how thieves got in.

“The people I’m competing against are the bad actors,” Mitsui said.

Where Smaller Companies Can Start

Companies without TQL’s resources can still build an effective program. Mitsui recommends:

• Training frontline staff: Employees often have the first interaction with a scammer, so teaching them what to look for is a low-cost starting point.
• Building subject matter experts: Train two or three people in depth and have them share that knowledge across the company.
• Testing employees: TQL runs a “secret scammer” program modeled on phishing tests. Staff use burner phones to call in as scammers and try to book loads or obtain information. Employees who fail take remedial fraud prevention courses.
• Validating carriers: Vendors such as Highway and Verified Carrier offer carrier validation services.