Organized crime uses fake IDs, spoofed emails to hijack freight; daily losses hit $18 million

Organized crime rings are increasingly using digital deception — fake identities, phishing campaigns and AI tools — to steal high-value shipments, driving cargo theft losses to an estimated $18 million per day, industry experts said June 5, 2026. The shift from physical theft to cyber-enabled fraud allows criminals to intercept loads before delivery. Impostor drivers with high-quality fake commercial licenses, available for as little as $25, exploit weak verification, said Jillian Kossman, chief operating officer of IDScan.net. A recent report by analyst Bart A. De Muynck described freight fraud as a multi-billion-dollar crisis, with fraudulent email attempts surging 117% year over year. Food, beverages and electronics remain the top targeted commodities. Executives stressed that multi-layered identity verification — including government-ID authentication and live-photo checks — is critical to combatting schemes that often go unreported across the fragmented industry.