Truck drivers are facing an increase in cargo theft as online scams sweep the shipping industry

San Antonio, Texas – As the holiday season begins, freight trucking experts say cargo theft will rise again as more products hit the road.

the July second quarter report CargoNet, a national information-sharing system that tracks cargo theft, shows a 13% increase in cargo theft compared to the same time in 2024.

Theft of vintage goods still occurs, and one San Antonio-based shipping business He has some experience with that.

“Before 2020, it was just straight-up theft,” said Adam Blanchard, co-founder of Double Diamond Transport and Tanager Logistics. “They would come and cut the seals and take the goods out of him.”

A NINTENDO SWITCH 2 was stolen with $1.4 million in shipping

Online merchandise theft has skyrocketed since the pandemic, rising 1,500% over the past four years, according to Trucking.org.

Keith Lewis, vice president of operations at CargoNet, said he noticed a jump in online theft right after 2020, “and the bad guys realized they could operate from anywhere in the world and take control of shipping.”

These scammers are now digging deep into all aspects of the trucking industry.

“they My identity was stolen “As a freight broker in order to obtain goods from other companies and deliver them to legitimate trucking companies, I started being contacted by legitimate trucking companies and asking to pay for freight that was not mine,” Blanchard said.

Blanchard tracked the scammers to Eastern Europe and found they had stolen a quantity of energy drinks. His business partner got hold of a fake logistics company over the phone, but no legal action was ever taken.

The fraudsters’ theft damaged Blanchard’s reputation, and because of the rise in theft claims, insurance rates for his business more than doubled this year.

Cargo theft reaches record level in 2024

“This is more technology-driven by transnational organizations that operate out of Eastern Europe and Russia,” Chris Speer, CEO of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), told FOX. “They’re actually going to bill the loads, and they’re looking at the kind of freight that’s expensive.”

But what happens with just a truckload of… The product has been stolen By scammer all over the world?

“They’ll steal that shipment, put it in containers as best we can tell, and a lot of it goes to the Los Angeles area, and they move it to other countries,” Blanchard said.

Shipping companies sometimes don’t know a load of cargo has been stolen until weeks, months or even a year later, CargoNet’s Lewis said.

“The problem is that we don’t have mandatory reporting, so a lot of these cases go unreported,” he said.

So far this year, California, Texas and Illinois rank in the top three for merchandise theft, accounting for 53% of all merchandise theft nationwide. The top target items are food, beverages and household goods.

The ATA says merchandise theft amounts to $19 million a day Trucking industry.

Democrats criticize Trump for diverting resources from fighting organized retail theft

The freight trucking industry is urging lawmakers to pass the Organized Retail Crime Control Act (CORCA). The bill “will provide law enforcement and industry with a unified framework to respond. Not only will it create a long-overdue task force to go after these criminal gangs, but it will also create a much-needed national cargo theft database,” the ATA said.

Blanchard He testified before Congress In February, along with other industry leaders.

“This is the crux of the issue. There is no law enforcement agency focused on this,” Blanchard said. “Until legislation is passed at the federal level that creates a federal law enforcement coalition that begins investigating these crimes, and actually begins making arrests and prosecutions, it will continue to get worse.”

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Blanchard said the theft would affect every part of the business, meaning he might have to raise prices — ultimately resulting in higher prices for shoppers.

“When they see products not hitting shelves, there is a shortage,” Speer said. “The cost is going up. There’s a reversal in what you and I pay and what everyone else pays for the things we want and need.”