There has been an alarming rise in cargo theft and freight fraud say the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) and the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) EMEA.
Incidents are escalating across Europe, the Americas and Africa. Latin America and several African nations are experiencing particularly severe and violent attacks.
According to TAPA’s intelligence system, nearly 160,000 cargo-related crimes were recorded in 129 countries between 2022 and 2024, with total losses estimated at several billions of Euros.
While traditional threats such as hijackings and theft remain a problem, both organisations warn that cargo crime is rapidly becoming more sophisticated and digitally enabled.
President and chief executive of TAPA EMEA, Thorsten Neumann, explained: “Although conventional theft from trucks and warehouses are still prevalent, cargo crime is evolving. We are seeing criminals using digital tools to conceal their true identities, the creation of shell companies and legitimate firms being cloned using stolen credentials. Forged email addresses, look-alike domains and fake insurance certificates are increasingly common. Our concern is that artificial intelligence will accelerate these activities, making deception easier to scale and significantly driving up losses.”
IUMI and TAPA EMEA are calling for urgent action by stakeholders and government authorities and have jointly published advice for shippers, logistics providers and insurers aimed at strengthening resilience against both physical and digital threats.
Recommendations include continuous vetting of carriers and drivers; verification of contacts, documentation and insurance credentials; adherence to recognised security and operational standards; increased vigilance for abnormal behaviour; and greater use of secure facilities and route planning.
IUMI secretary general, Lars Lange, added: “A crucial element in the fight against cargo fraud are freight exchange platforms. They have a key responsibility to ensure no bogus carriers can operate on these platforms. IUMI and TAPA EMEA encourage these platforms to implement robust identity verification and fraud detection protocols, including multifactor authentication. Their support and cooperation is essential to closing loopholes which are increasingly being exploited by fake carriers.”
Cargo theft losses in North America reached US$ 455 million in 2024, with over 3,600 reported incidents while TAPA EMEA’s cargo crime intelligence database recorded over 108,000 thefts from supply chains in more than 110 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the last two years. T
trategic cargo theft and organised crime account for around 18% of all thefts in the US as criminals adopt increasingly sophisticated tactics to attack supply chains.[3]
“Phantom freight” frauds have surged in Mexico. According to the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), this kind of strategic theft skyrocketed (up to 15 times) since 2022. Notorious cases involved stealing high-value shipments such as truckloads of tequila through fraud, with no violence used.
The German Insurance Association (GDV) reports a dramatic increase: In the first seven months of 2025 alone, 88 cases of so‑called phantom carriers were registered – as many as in the entire previous year.
Criminal groups increasingly focus on the fraudulent theft of truck consignments by securing regular freight contracts under false or misused identities. They set up shell companies, hijack or impersonate legitimate firms, or operate under stolen credentials so that, at the point of collection, everything appears to be a normal transport. Once they have taken charge of the goods with the intent to steal them, the contract is not fulfilled. The consignment does not reach its intended recipient and is instead resold elsewhere. By this stage, the ostensible business partner has vanished without a trace.
The method is low risk and high reward because the cargo is handed over voluntarily. Offenders rely on simple but effective digital deception: spoofed or forged email addresses, look‑alike domains, fake insurance certificates, and counterfeit driver credentials. Access to freight exchanges or company systems is increasingly obtained by compromising user accounts through phishing, password reuse, or other credential attacks. While AI is not central to current cases, emerging AI tools can streamline document forgery, identity obfuscation, and credential harvesting, making these schemes easier to scale and potentially driving larger losses over time.
It is not only one‑off contracts that are affected. Repeat bookings and framework agreements are also targeted, which increases the potential severity of losses.
Shippers are advised to vet all carriers and drivers continuously and use only agreed, secure communication channels with continuously vetted contacts. Verify email addresses and phone numbers before each transport order, even in ongoing relationships. Minor changes to contact details are a common fraud tactic.
The should cross-check driver credentials and freight forwarder details, adhere strictly to existing standards such as TAPA’s Cyber Security Standard and Freight Broker Security Requirements (FBSR) Standard and GDV’s loss prevention guidelines on.
Abnormal behaviour such as unusual routing, last-minute changes, or mismatched contact details are clear warning signs and should trigger precautionary measures.
Secure parking and route planning remain critical to prevent in-transit theft and shippers should use technology to increase the real-time GPS monitoring of fleets.
A crucial element in the fight against cargo fraud are freight exchange platforms. They have a key responsibility to ensure no bogus carriers can operate on the platforms.
While fraudulent carriers dominate in Europe and North America, violent theft remains rampant in other regions. Hijackings still account for many cargo theft incidents, with hotspots in Brazil, South Africa, and parts of Europe.
