Every year, the holiday season brings a surge in consumer demand, but for the logistics industry, it also marks a period of heightened risk. As freight volumes increase to meet seasonal needs, opportunistic criminals see a prime window for fraud and cargo theft. Protecting freight requires more than just luck, it demands awareness, vigilance, and a proactive security strategy.
High-Risk Commodities: What Criminals are Targeting
During peak season, bad actors zero in on freight that’s valuable, fast-moving, and easy to resell, and a few categories consistently rise to the top. Premium meats, seafood, and frozen goods surge in demand from during the holidays, making refrigerated freight a high-value target with limited recovery windows.
Consumer electronics and luxury retail items, phones, tablets, gaming consoles, and high-end goods, remain persistent favorites due to their high resale value and bulk shipping patterns. And as holiday celebrations ramp up, alcohol and specialty beverages move in larger volumes across the country, creating even more opportunity for thieves to intercept shipments of wine, spirits, and craft beverages.
Hot Spots: Where Fraud Activity Spikes
While freight fraud can happen anywhere, certain regions see a disproportionate surge during the holidays due to sheer volume and network density. States like California, Texas, and Florida become prime targets as high-value goods move rapidly through ports, warehouse clusters, and major retail hubs, giving impersonators and cargo thieves the cover they need to blend in.
In the Midwest, Indiana and surrounding distribution hubs face similar exposure. Heavy consolidation around Indianapolis and Greenwood creates frequent handoffs and high-velocity freight movements, making these areas susceptible to identity fraud and compromised carriers.
How Brokers Can Stay Ahead This Season
Staying protected during the holiday season isn’t about reinventing your workflows, it’s about going back to the basics and executing the fundamentals.
- Implement Identity-first vetting: Verify the carrier and the user before anything moves.
- Protect your rate confirmations: Secure your rate confirmations and load details through two factor authenticated channels.
- Watch for behavioral shifts: Look out for sudden changes in insurance, new contact info, or questionable dispatch activity.
- Monitor high-risk loads closely: Leverage tools like Highway for real-time alerts and ELD-based visibility at the load level.
Reinforce your team’s holiday-season protocols by downloading Highway’s Broker Fraud Prevention Checklist.
The Reality of Fraud During the Holidays
Peak season amplifies pressure across every part of the freight network, and fraudsters use that pressure to their advantage. Compressed timelines and high-value loads create windows they’re ready to exploit. In a season where fraud moves fast, early signals and disciplined execution are what keep freight protected.
Give your team the tools to spot fraud risks early and move freight with confidence. Book a demo of Highway today!
