In 2025, cargo thieves in the US took an estimated $725 million worth of freight, according to Verisk CargoNet. That's about 60% more than the year before. The strange part is that the number of incidents barely moved. CargoNet counted 3,594 supply-chain crime events in 2025, roughly the same as 2024.
So losses rose sharply while incidents stayed flat. The average theft is now worth $273,990, up 36%. Criminals aren't stealing more often. They're stealing better freight, and mostly they aren't breaking anything to do it.
Theft has moved from the yard to the inbox
The old picture of cargo theft was a cut padlock at a truck stop. That still happens, but the growth is in what the industry calls strategic theft: getting someone to hand the load over willingly.
Overhaul's Q1 2026 report shows it clearly. Total US cargo thefts fell year-over-year for the first time since 2021, to 574 incidents. In the same quarter, deceptive pickup schemes rose 31% from the previous quarter. Fewer thefts overall, more of them done by fraud.
For shippers, the risk has moved. It used to sit mostly in the parking lot. Now it sits in the booking process, often before a truck ever shows up.
The three schemes worth understanding
Double brokering. A broker, or someone posing as one, takes your load and quietly re-brokers it to another carrier. That carrier was never vetted by the party you contracted with. Sometimes it's just a sloppy business practice. Sometimes the second "carrier" is the thief.
Carrier identity theft. Fraudsters pose as a real, established carrier with clean safety records and years of history. They use lookalike email domains, spoofed phone numbers and stolen documents. On paper everything checks out, because the carrier they're copying is real.
Fictitious pickup. A driver arrives at the dock with a name, a truck and paperwork that match the booking closely enough. The load goes out the door and never reaches the consignee.
All three work for the same reason. Most checks confirm that a carrier exists and has active authority. They don't confirm that the person you're dealing with is actually that carrier.
Why this isn't only the broker's problem
It's easy for a shipper to assume fraud is between the broker and the carrier. In practice, a stolen load costs the shipper far more than the invoice value:
Replacement time. For imported goods, replacing a load can mean another ocean transit, which is weeks, not days.
Customer fallout. Missed delivery windows, chargebacks, and in retail, penalties.
Insurance. Deductibles, higher premiums at renewal, and exclusions you only find when you file.
Claims that go nowhere. Under the Carmack Amendment (49 U.S.C. § 14706), the carrier is generally liable for loss in interstate shipments. That works when the carrier is real. When the "carrier" was a fraudster using someone else's identity, there may be nobody solvent to claim against.
There are deadlines as well. Carriers can require written claims within nine months of the loss, and lawsuits generally have to be filed within two years of a written denial. Those clocks keep running while you're still working out who actually had your freight.
7 questions to ask your broker or 3PL
None of these is an accusation. A good broker will be glad you asked and will have answers ready.
How do you confirm a carrier's identity, not just its authority? Active authority is the minimum. Ask what else they check.
Where do you get the carrier's contact details? The safer answer is from official records or a verified onboarding process, not from whatever email the carrier used to reach out.
Is re-brokering prohibited in your carrier agreements, and how would you know if it happened?
Do you track loads in real time, and what happens when tracking drops? Ask whether there's a defined escalation or just a note in a spreadsheet.
What gets checked at pickup? Driver name, truck and trailer numbers matched against the booking, or just a signature? Polt uses secure facial, CDL and VIN tracking to confirm the driver is who they say they are before they receive the rate con.
Is your bond or trust in good standing? Since 16 January 2026, FMCSA's financial responsibility rule requires brokers to keep $75,000 in financial security available at all times. If it drops below that and isn't topped up within seven days of notice, their authority is suspended. You can check a broker's status yourself on FMCSA's public registration lookup.
What contingent cargo coverage do you carry, and what does it exclude? Theft by deception is sometimes treated differently from ordinary theft. Ask before you need it.
If the answers are vague, treat that as information in its own right.
What's changing on the regulatory side
Beyond the bond rule, FMCSA is rebuilding its registration system and has added identity verification for new applicants. It has also proposed moving to USDOT numbers only, which would retire MC numbers, but that change hasn't been finalized. FMCSA says it will go through formal rulemaking first. So be wary of anyone telling you MC numbers are already gone.
These steps make it harder to set up fake companies. They don't stop someone from impersonating a real one. Much of the protection still depends on the everyday process between shipper, broker and carrier.
Where technology helps, and where it doesn't
Good tools make fraud harder to hide. They show where a load is, flag when a carrier's details change, and keep booking, tracking and documents in one place instead of scattered across inboxes. That's part of why we built Polt as a single system for brokerage operations rather than another tool to bolt on.
Software doesn't replace judgment, though. The schemes above succeed on moments when someone is rushed, the email looks right and the load needs to move today. The best defence is still a process where the obvious questions get asked every time, on every load, including the easy ones.
The short version
Cargo theft losses rose sharply in 2025 even though the number of incidents stayed flat, because criminals are targeting higher-value loads through fraud.
Double brokering, carrier identity theft and fictitious pickups all get past checks that only confirm a carrier exists.
Shippers carry much of the cost, so they have every reason to ask how their broker vets carriers.
Ask the seven questions before your next shipment, not after a claim.
Sources
Verisk CargoNet, 2025 annual theft analysis: https://www.verisk.com/company/newsroom/cargo-theft-losses-surge-to-estimated-$725-million-in-2025-verisk-cargonet-analysis-reveals/
Overhaul, Q1 2026 US cargo theft report: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-cargo-theft-dipped-in-q1-2026-while-deceptive-pickup-schemes-jumped-31-overhaul-report-finds-302773974.html
FMCSA, Broker and Freight Forwarder Financial Responsibility rule FAQs: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration/broker-and-freight-forwarder-financial-responsibility-rule-faqs
Carmack Amendment claim deadlines: https://freightclaims.com/carmack-amendment-freight-claims/
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