In 2024 alone, freight fraud surged by 27%—and early Q1 2025 data shows the trend isn’t slowing. From phishing to stolen MCs, the tactics are evolving, and the risks are rising fast. What used to be seen as isolated incidents is now a national crisis—hurting businesses, disrupting supply chains, and raising costs for consumers across the board.
Bad actors are getting smarter and bolder. From spoofed emails to fraudulent rate cons, here’s what Highway blocked in just Q1:
And that’s just what was stopped. Nationwide, cargo theft is costing companies up to $35 billion a year, according to The State of Fraud in the Industry Report by TIA.
Fraudsters are gaining access to real carrier inboxes through phishing links disguised as load boards, factoring portals, or rate confirmations. Once in, they study the conversation history and impersonate the real dispatcher, often intercepting a load before anyone realizes.
Caller ID can’t always be trusted. Inbound calls often appear to come from a verified carrier, but they’re actually spoofed. If you're only verifying via phone, you’re exposed. Always make outbound calls to verified numbers listed in Highway.
Carriers are selling authority on marketplaces, often without realizing who’s buying. Once the MC changes hands, fraudsters exploit the good reputation and sign carrier agreements to gain fast access to loads.
Fraud follows opportunity —and long weekends, holidays, and off-hours are prime windows for attacks. Here’s what to watch for:
Fraud prevention is no longer optional—it’s operational. These tools are helping teams spot and stop fraud before it hits:
Secure Rate Confirmation Delivery: Eliminates the need to send sensitive load information as email attachments by securing access with multi-factor authentication ensuring that only authorized carrier personnel can view load details.
Highway for VoIP: Automatically filters spoofed and suspicious inbound calls before they ever reach your team—reducing exposure to phone-based scams.
Highway for Email: Flags lookalike email domains in real-time to help teams spot impersonators and prevent phishing clicks.
What we’re seeing isn’t just more fraud—it’s smarter fraud. The Freight Fraud Index reveals a growing pattern of highly targeted attacks, from spoofed emails to fake dispatchers. Awareness and early detection are now just as critical as prevention.
Explore how Highway helps stop theft before it happens with real-time verification, book a demo here.
For the full breakdown of insights, watch the recording here.