The Freight Fraud Problem Every Shipper Is Now Exposed To

By Elayna Slocum – Senior Legal Specialist, Synchrogistics

For a long time, risk management in freight was treated as something you handled after a problem occurred.

A shipment went missing. A carrier turned out to be someone other than who they claimed to be. A claim came in, and then the investigation started.

That mindset no longer works.

Over the last three years, fraud and cargo theft have surged across the supply chain. At the same time, liability has expanded, and it is no longer confined to brokers. Shippers themselves are increasingly exposed when something goes wrong with a load.

Supply chain risk management is no longer optional. It is an absolute necessity.

This Is Not Just a Broker Problem

It’s easy to assume fraud exposure is something only logistics companies need to worry about.
That is not the case.

As liability has expanded, shippers have found themselves pulled into the same risk. A fraudulent carrier does not just create a headache for whoever booked the load. It creates exposure for the freight owner, the brand attached to that freight, and everyone downstream of the shipment.

That shift changes the question shippers should be asking their logistics partners.

It is no longer:
Can you find me a truck?

It is: What are you actually doing to confirm that truck, and the carrier behind it, is legitimate?

What Shippers Should Be Looking For

A logistics partner’s job should never stop at booking capacity.

Shippers need a partner with real processes in place, processes built to protect the freight and, by extension, the brand behind it.

That distinction matters more today than it did five years ago. A lot of freight still moves through partners whose primary function is matching a load to a driver. Far fewer are built to verify who that driver actually is, whether their insurance is current and legitimate, or whether their operating history holds up.

How We Approach It at Synchro

Our approach is layered, not a single checkpoint.

• Carrier identification and insurance verification
• Cross-referencing carrier information against factoring companies to confirm consistency
• Independent third-party platforms to verify safety data, identity, and performance history

None of this is static. We continuously monitor trends in fraud and theft as they emerge and update our processes and policies to match what we’re actually seeing in the market, not what was true a year or two ago.

The goal is simple: confirm the carrier is who they say they are, operating safely, and capable of moving freight without it disappearing, being damaged, or creating complications down the line.

Watch Episode 

In the first episode of The Fine Print, I talk more about what has changed in freight risk over the last several years and what shippers should expect from a logistics partner in this environment.