When the famous criminal Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, he sarcastically replied: “Because that is where the money is,” according to the tradition of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. A century later, a new generation of thieves traded Sutton’s famous revolver for a laptop keyboard and found a target much bigger than the nearby banks: the huge flow of goods that ply America’s highways every day in thousands of 18-wheeler trucks.
By adopting computer hacking tools, these thieves discovered an effective strategy, and the incidents of merchandise theft increased rapidly. The spoils can be lucrative, with the average estimated value of an individual theft now exceeding $202,000, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing insurance fraud and crime. At this rate, losses pile up quickly. The value of stolen goods and estimated losses exceeded $1 billion in 2023, rose 27% in 2024, and is expected to rise another 22% by the end of 2025.
Organized crime groups, attracted by these high payouts, are using high-tech tools to steal cargo payloads in more creative ways than ever before, using strategies such as identity theft, fraudulent transfers, and online “logistics tampering” — which essentially uses digital technology to exploit vulnerabilities in logistics networks, the group says. “Vulnerabilities in commonly used business technologies such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and GPS, coupled with business email compromises, identity theft and synthetic identities, enable sophisticated criminals to redirect high-value consumer goods such as electronics, pharmaceuticals and apparel from their intended destination to the black market,” NICB President and CEO David J. Glawe said in a statement.
Scams can work in a number of ways, but a common trick is for thieves to impersonate a trusted logistics partner. Then when they drive their truck to the warehouse dock and present official-looking paperwork or an online contract, the distribution center loads their truck with valuable goods and happily sends them on their way. The theft may not be discovered until days later when the intended recipient complains that the package never arrived.
To win this game of wits, shippers need to stay on top of the latest schemes so they recognize the signs of potential fraud. Fortunately, many industry sources offer training courses and educational resources to help spread the word. But thieves always strive to stay one step ahead.
Hackers get creative
Addressing evolving cyber threats can be especially difficult for an industry like U.S. trucking, where the vast majority of drivers work in small fleets and thus lack IT departments or formal training in cyber defense. According to the American Trucking Associations (ATA), 91.5% of the nation’s 580,000 commercial trucking fleets operate 10 or fewer trucks. In other words, 86% of trucks on the road belong to fleets of six or fewer, according to the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA).
This can make them easy targets for thieves, who seem to redouble their efforts to scam new victims and evade law enforcement. “We expect criminals to continue taking advantage [fake] banners as well as emerging technology, such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, [and] “There are other ways to develop new fraudulent ways to steal goods,” British management consulting firm BSI Consulting said in its Supply Chain Risk Exposure Evaluation Network (SCREEN) report for the third quarter. “In addition, we expect them to continue to develop techniques to evade law enforcement. In addition to sophisticated tactics, we expect more criminal groups to engage in fraudulent and strategic thefts in more areas of the United States.”
For example, recent years have seen an increase in “phishing” or “phishing” attempts against telecom companies, where hackers attempt to trick workers into sharing computer passwords and other “personally identifiable information” (PII).
In this scenario, the fraudster might ask the owner/operator to fill out a form that includes, for example, their login credentials, explains Danielle Spinelli, an account executive at software development company Descartes Systems Group who specializes in studying merchandise theft. Once a hacker gains access to a driver’s email system — such as a Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail account — they can impersonate the victim in future email exchanges or even in posts on the load board.
She says hackers have also become adept at overcoming physical technology designed to deter them, such as the tracking tags that many shippers attach to pallets before loading them into a trailer. For example, some thieves have placed an empty paint can over a sensor designed to detect light emitted when a trailer door is opened, allowing them to access that platform at will. In other cases, thieves have actually removed the entire tailgate section of a truck trailer to avoid triggering a sensor that notifies security personnel when those doors are opened.
“The bad guys have learned the trade, they’ve learned the loopholes,” Spinelli says. “In order to achieve good security, people in all roles must be careful: not just the carrier, but also [players from] Every sector of the industry – warehousing, shipping, dockers, as well as brokers. In the past, some brokers were reluctant to report their stories because they did not want to damage their reputation. Therefore the theft of goods often goes unreported.
Get your e-learning
For fleets and drivers facing these challenges, Spinelli says the best defense is to continually educate themselves on the latest scams. In a world where many truck drivers lack access to cyber defense training from their companies, industry groups have stepped in to offer security-focused newsletters, seminars and videos. Examples include the National Automobile Freight Traffic Association’s free education programs and Descartes’ “My Carrier Portal” website.
Other industry groups have developed protocols that brokers, carriers, or drivers can follow to protect themselves from cybertheft. For example, the Moving Assets Protection Association of the Americas, a non-profit organization founded in 1997 to address the problem of multibillion-dollar cargo theft, recently released the Freight Broker Security Requirements Standard (FBSR), a framework designed to raise the bar on security offerings across the freight brokerage industry.
BSI consultants also have some advice for operators looking to deter cargo thieves. They recommend a multifaceted approach that includes intelligence, technology, physical security and staff training, but also emphasize the role of human oversight and vigilance. To limit fraudulent transfers, for example, they recommend companies make sure the carrier has provided a legitimate address and is not using an untraceable PO box or location; Contact the carrier to speak directly with someone and confirm their legitimacy; Train everyone on site to check IDs and ensure the driver has a commercial driver’s license (CDL); and recording basic information about vehicles transporting shipments, including type, tags, license plates, and trailer or container numbers.
Sophisticated crime groups are turning modern technology against the fleets and truckers transporting goods across the country. Experts agree that the problem will continue to grow in the coming years. But supply chain professionals shouldn’t give up hope, they say. By participating in shipping industry training programs, they can stay on top of the latest threats and bolster their defenses against the rising tide of online theft.
