The transport sector has been confronted with ‘fake carriers’ in recent years. These fictitious, fraudulent carriers present themselves as legitimate companies, often with convincing but forged documents, stolen corporate identities or slightly changed email addresses. Their goal is simple: intercept valuable cargo and then disappear without a trace.
The problem is increasingly centered around digital freight platforms. While these platforms were once praised for their efficiency and flexibility, they are also proving to be a new gateway for criminals. Creating a reliable-looking profile takes little effort, and due to the speed of digital matching, there is not always sufficient checking. “82% of customers arrange transport within fifteen minutes,” says Gunnar Gburek, Head of Business Affairs at Timocom. “In that short time it is almost impossible to thoroughly check a carrier.”
According to insurers and sector organizations, the number of reports of cargo thefts is increasing exponentially every year, especially on international routes. “We deal with ‘fake carriers’ every day,” says Edwin Letschert, from the Dutch Botlek Logistics. “Either they try to offer a load to load for them. Or they try to accept a load from us so that they can steal it. We have been caught out a few times, yes.”
The impact on affected companies is great. The value of the stolen cargoes can amount to more than half a million euros. In addition to the direct financial damage, there is also reputational damage, rising insurance costs and loss of confidence in digital systems. Small businesses sometimes cannot survive one incident.
In practice, a transport planner does not have time to check everything.
How does the fraud work?
In any case, the pattern is usually the same. A ‘fake carrier’ responds to an order via a platform or via a subcontractor. Documents, permits and contact details appear correct, but are forged. The cargo, often electronics, building materials, metals or other high-value goods, is collected without any problems. The delivery address is then changed, contact is broken and/or the transport disappears completely from the systems.
“The working method is indeed often identical,” says Edwin Letschert. “We now know what to look out for. For example, they almost never negotiate the transport price, so that is already a starting point. And we check the company information as best as possible. If something seems suspicious, we do not pursue it further. Sometimes the names of well-known, reliable companies are also misused. You should therefore always check whether the email address matches that of that company. Sometimes there is only one letter difference with the real email address.”
In some cases, unsuspecting subcontractors cooperate, making blame and responsibility more diffuse. “The ‘fake carrier’ then engages a bona fide carrier to load for them,” explains Edwin Letschert. “And he then delivers in good faith to a different address than stated in the official order. That carrier is therefore not consciously involved, but is often blamed afterwards, since the cargo has disappeared.”
Some transport criminals even take over inactive or distressed transporters. “They pay a stooge, sometimes even a homeless or 18-year-old, who only signs for the money,” says Frederik Dekeyser of the Wim Dekeyser research agency. “The criminals then have valid VAT numbers, permits and sometimes even membership on a freight exchange. Before the takeover or change in shareholding is officially registered, no one knows that the company is in the hands of criminals.”
“Because it is usually only discovered days later that something is wrong,
goods can literally be anywhere.”
How do you prevent fraud?
First of all: check everything, such as licenses, telephone number, email address, insurance documents, and so on. “But in practice, a transport planner does not have time to check all that,” says Frederik Dekeyser. “And so fraud is often not noticed in time. We have therefore been sending warning emails to the sector for some time now. We collect information, such as suspicious email addresses, telephone numbers and names, that we receive from transport companies. That is a free service. We used to do this once or twice a week, now sometimes up to 20 times. We receive reports of attempted or successful fraud every day.”
Another tool is a so-called ‘barrier model’. This shows at which points in the logistics process criminals strike and where barriers can be placed, such as stricter screening, improved identity checks and technology for carrier verification. By understanding the modus operandi of ‘fake carriers’, companies can take targeted measures.
Recording license plates and camera surveillance also helps in the fight against these criminals. At the same time, experts are calling for further professionalization: a pan-European digital check on insurance, permits and company data, a central database with known ‘fake carriers’ and clear communication rules in which contacts remain within the freight platforms as much as possible. “But communication at digital fairs does not appear to be really effective against fraud,” says Frederik Dekeyser. “Some platforms have stopped using it again. But Teleroute, for example, does share who has viewed an advertisement, so that you already have that information in the event of fraud.”
Are stolen loads still found?
“The chance is small,” says Frederik Dekeyser. “Because it is usually only discovered days later that something is wrong, goods can literally be anywhere. Transport is by definition international and that makes reports and investigations complex. For example, loading takes place in Belgium with delivery in Spain. But the criminal pretends to be a Polish carrier and the goods disappear in the Czech Republic. Cooperation between police services in different countries is difficult. Even determining where the report should be made sometimes proves to be a major challenge. We occasionally find warehouses where stolen goods are stored: not always the cargo of the file that we are investigating, other stolen loads. The warehouse employees are sometimes arrested, but the real ringleaders remain out of the picture.”
Checklist to recognize ‘fake carriers’
How do you recognize a ‘fake carrier’? At the ‘DEKRA Future Congress for Commercial Vehicles’ in Berlin, Gunnar Gburek from Timocom provided the checklist below.
- They always want to communicate outside the marketplace.
- They refer to alleged or real transport requests, so they ‘hijack’ current quotes by claiming that they are responding to an existing request.
- They have (or try to obtain) insider information: sometimes they know details about routes, loading points or clients and sometimes they try to gather information by asking questions that seem irrelevant.
- They assume the identities of well-known transporters, using their company names or even logos.
- They change email addresses slightly, for example dispatch@haulierr.eu instead of dispatch@haulier.eu.
- They use forged documents, such as EURO license, insurance certificate and CMR.
- They accept prices below market value in order to win a job quickly.
- They insist on a quick decision, because creating time for verification is their enemy.
Tool to quickly warn planners about fraud
Research agency Wim Dekeyser is developing a control tool to help planners and shippers quickly unmask ‘fake carriers’. The user only needs to fill in three elements of the company you are contacting: name, VAT number and the email address you were contacted with. “The tool immediately links this data to public databases, company registers and the internal list of known fraudsters,” explains Frederik Dekeyser. “An AI-supported module analyzes the combination and gives a clear signal in a few seconds: “Please note, this email address does not match the official company data” or “This name appears in previous fraud cases”. The system shows at a glance whether something is wrong. The launch is scheduled for early 2026.”
Anyone who wants to receive warning emails about ‘fake carriers’ from Wim Dekeyser can submit a request via warning@wimdekeyser.be. You can also report fraud (attempts) via that address.
