A new era of cargo theft

When you picked logistics as your profession, you may not have signed up to also be a cyber detective. But that's increasingly becoming a reality for many trucking leaders, as they battle cargo theft occurring through digital schemes and strategic fraudsters. 

It can be tough, especially for small motor carriers with limited time and resources, to keep up with the myriad evolving methods of strategic freight theft. Today, we turn to Scott Cornell, VP of transportation risk and strategy, crime & theft specialist at LogistIQ Insurance Solutions and chairman of the Transported Asset Protection Association-Americas, for his advice on small steps that can make a big difference in theft prevention—and why he's optimistic about the future. 

—Interview by Shefali Kapadia, edited by Bianca Prieto

From the carrier perspective, how is cargo theft different today than in years past?

One of the major changes from the carrier perspective has been the rise of strategic theft—where criminals trick you into handing over freight instead of physically taking it. This approach isn't new, but carriers have historically dealt mainly with straight theft methods. Straight theft is still the most common threat to carriers, but strategic theft is surging and requires entirely different defenses. Carriers now have to question whether someone calling to pick up a load is actually who they claim to be. They're getting tricked into helping thieves steal loads and can often get stiffed on payment themselves.

Before 2020, strategic theft represented only 3% of incidents. According to CargoNet, overall cargo theft rose 93% between 2021 and 2024. Within that, strategic theft jumped 1,475%—expanding from two primary methods to over 25. For carriers, this means exposure that looks vastly different from what they faced even five years ago.

Do you believe small motor carriers have the tools or strategies in place to fight theft—why or why not? 

Most aren't where they need to be, but certainly not for lack of effort. The problem is that the threat evolved faster than awareness did, and small carriers are running lean operations where cargo security isn't always the priority it needs to be, and for many years, wasn’t necessarily affordable.

What really concerns me is strategic theft, specifically. When you go from two known methods to over 25 in less than a decade, that's an enormous amount of ground to cover educationally. Many of these technologically sophisticated strategies target employees who were never expected to become cyber detectives as part of their day jobs. Many small carriers don’t have the infrastructure, resources or training to defend against these criminals.

What's one thing you wish small fleets knew or paid attention to regarding freight theft?

I wish small fleets fully understood just how important they are in the fight to curb cargo theft. While so many are working tirelessly to combat this issue—including industry experts and law enforcement alike—these carriers are the front line for the industry. That is why it is so critical that we continue working to fully inform and engage them on what's going on with cargo theft today. Greater awareness and participation are key to stopping a great deal of the cargo theft we see each day. Empowering the carriers with the information and, in some cases, the tools to help prevent theft is critical.

As a shipper or freight broker, if you find carriers that are taking an active role in theft prevention—including engaging in making sure your loads are not lost to cargo theft, avoiding hot spots, securing the trucks well, helping to track the cargo and implementing other best practices—find ways to reward that behavior. Whether monetarily or through other means, such as consistent good volume, fostering these partnerships is critical.

What's one practical change a small business fleet executive can make today to minimize theft issues?

In terms of straight theft—where thieves go out and physically steal loads—the simplest and most impactful change is educating drivers on theft as a whole and providing them with the intel they need on their routes. This can be as simple as letting them know what they’re hauling and identifying all the hotspots for theft along their route. It’s also critical to ensure they have the right tools, such as high-security rear-door locks, landing gear locks and tracking. 

When we’re looking at strategic theft—where thieves use deceit to get people to hand over loads—it’s important to vet the brokers that call them, just like the brokers vet them before giving them loads. The unfortunate reality is that not everyone who calls you is a legitimate freight broker. Sometimes it's a bad guy impersonating a freight broker, and not only are they about to involve you in a theft, but likely, you won't get paid either.

What gives you hope in terms of how supply chains are handling cargo theft?

I feel optimistic about the fact that people are finally starting to talk about it more. That wasn't always the case, and that silence cost us enormously. For one thing, without public awareness, there's been no meaningful pressure on Washington to act, which may be a part of why we still have no federal tracking of cargo theft data. Right now, we're estimating the scope of a problem that's costing the industry billions annually, because nobody is required to report it.

What I'm seeing now is different. Events like TAPA AMERICAS National Cargo Theft Summit are selling out. Companies are openly sharing what happened to them and what they learned. That's the same cultural foundation that built the safety transformation in trucking—not just a single regulation or technology, but a collective decision that this is everybody's problem and we're better off solving it together.

Critically, the Combating Organized Crime Act would accelerate that significantly by giving us the data infrastructure we've never had. But the mindset shift is already real, and after 30 years in this fight, that gives me genuine optimism.

Thanks for reading today's edition! You can reach the newsletter team at editor@theinsidelane.co. We enjoy hearing from you.

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The Inside Lane is curated and written by Shefali Kapadia and edited by Bianca Prieto.