Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/791967
26 | Overdrive | March 2017 SLEIGHT OF TRUCK predict, "will increasingly turn to this modus operandi because it is less risky than traditional cargo theft." Carrier identity theft occurs when a thief impersonates a legitimate carrier, secures a load, picks it up and disap- pears. Thieves posing as both brokers and carriers, and in some cases success- fully claiming old or even active author- ities for themselves, are increasingly using this scam. In this scenario, says Cornell, a carrier or broker is "dealing directly with the bad guy. You're hiring the bad guy yourself." In another sort of fictitious pickup, you're dealing with the good guy. "ABC Trucking agrees to Friday at 1 o'clock to pick up the cargo," Cornell says. "Everybody involved in that transaction is who they say they are, but the bad guy finds out about that arrangement." That may happen as a result of a data breach, such as sophisticated hacking into a company network, or leaks, intentional or unin- tentional, from inside the carrier or broker. In this scenario, the thief shows up an hour or two early and poses as a trucking company employee. The art of forgery has improved every year, so it's likely not hard to present convincing paperwork. "Off they go down the road," Cornell says. "At 1 o'clock, the legiti- mate company shows up, and the freight is gone." Travelers' in-house investigative unit is famous for its sting trailer. It's equipped with hidden cameras, tracking devices, hidden microphones and more that law enforcement agencies around the nation have used to bust cargo theft rings employing traditional theft meth- ods. Cornell says the enforcement com- munity also is looking at ways to use the trailer to combat fictitious-pickup sce- narios, particularly where a crime ring is concentrating on a certain area. "We might work with law enforce- ment to try to get the sting trailer to be used on one or two of those loads." DISSEMINATING INFORMATION TO COMBAT THEFT CargoNet holds a unique position among participants in the freight supply chain as a membership organization that, in the words of company Vice President Sal Marino, provides owner-operators and others with a "multilayered approach to cargo security." One component of that is recovering your truck and/or trailer. While most owner-operators haven't experienced a truck, trailer or cargo theft, some might find the $50 annual owner-operator membership is worth- while insurance for the organization's additional layer of security and access to recovery resources. Marino describes the typical theft reporting process: "The officer will come out, they'll ask some questions. The driv- er will say 'It's a white trailer.' And the officer says 'Pick up your police report in 48 hours.' That's unfortunately often where it ends." CargoNet's reporting service ensures members' theft information is distrib- uted to a network of more than 125,000 officers in more than 9,000 jurisdictions. That includes regional cargo theft task forces. "We're streamlining communications between law enforcement and the vic- tim," Marino says. Once or twice a month, their tips lead to finding a "full tractor and trailer with cargo," he says. Also, noting a top con- cern for any owner-operator, "We're very good at getting assets back quickly. Once thieves heist the product, they often abandon the tractor." Marino says the company collects details on the cargo, such as any images and SKUs (identifying codes), "and we upload them into our database. Say law enforcement stumbles over some suspect cargo. That officer contacts us with an SKU, and match, match, match." An arrest could result, sometimes with freight recovery. An owner-operator membership to CargoNet includes a 12-by-12-inch "Protected by CargoNet" decal. Think of it like a home security yard sign, but for a tractor or trailer, Marino says. "We have about 30,000 on the road today. Not one of them has been attempted to have been breached." Access to media advisories, CargoNet alerts and webinars also are included. The alerts database is searchable by members. Marino recently was talking with a broker about membership benefits and showed her the alert search. "She says, 'Can you put a phone num- ber in?' You can, and I did. Turned out it was used in five other fuel advance-scam identity thefts. 'If you were a member,' I said, 'You would have known.' " Traditional cargo theft – unloading a trailer or stealing a trailer or complete rig – remains the most common method. Max Heine