TIA rolls out updated version of framework focused on fighting freight fraud

Last week, Alexandria, Va.-based Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) released an updated version of a publication focused on fraud in freight transportation, entitled “Framework to Combat Fraud: Preventing & Responding to Fraud and Theft.”

TIA said that this 40-page publication takes a deep dive into the latest trends in supply chain fraud, as well as help TIA members take the necessary steps to develop and implement their own policies and procedures in order to reduce potential fraud and cargo theft.

And it added that the publication addresses five types of fraud (in addition to case studies): cargo theft, financial theft, identity theft, internal theft, and data/information theft.

“Every day the criminals that plague our industry with fraudulent activities are constantly adapting their strategies and looking for new segments of the supply chain to take advantage,” said Anne Reinke, president & CEO of TIA, in a statement.  “For industry stakeholders to stay one step ahead, we all need to collaborate and information share ideas and approaches to combat this rampant issue.”

In a previous interview with LM, Reinke explained that the impact that fraud is having on TIA members is unprecedented.

“We have never seen this amount of fraud,” she said. “This is criminal fraud. It is not like motor carriers double-brokering. This is like bad actors in the space on any end of the transaction, and it has certainly had an impact. One of our member companies closed its doors because it could not handle the fraud anymore.

When asked about the most common examples of fraud, Reinke said a fair amount of it is focused on identity theft, where there are people who masquerade as a legitimate broker or a legitimate carrier. Another one is when freight is “held hostage” and a bad actor holds it to get a higher price

“You have your typical double brokering schemes where [transportation intermediaries] arrange transportation then somebody also arranges transportation after we've arranged it and so then the actual legitimate carrier comes back to us and we say ‘who the heck are you?’” she said. “That is your traditional crime. There is also outright cargo theft, which increased 675% [in 2023 as per Cargonet data]. It is almost unfathomable. And they are looking at all types of goods…electronics, solar panels, and typically not food but there have been some cases of that. We see it in these high-dollar shipments.”