Haulin Assets Academy: https://www.haulinassetsacademy.com/

Motor Carrier HQ: https://www.motorcarrierhq.com/

This is a topic I wish I did not have to cover, but fraud in the trucking industry is going crazy right now and it is affecting all of us. Being dishonest is very short sided and will catch up with you in the long run. There is no place for dishonesty in the business world. In my opinion, fraud is one of the worst forms of dishonesty.

Why is fraud so rampant right now? I have my theories that Craig and I discuss, but I think it stems from the tough market we are in. Here are some of the more common types of fraud that we talk about:

• Double brokered loads (We spend a lot of time on this one)
• Companies that pretend to be the FMCSA, DOT, IRS or State Agency
  • Emails from government entities should end with a .gov not .com
• Card skimmers
• New Entrant Audit scams
  • Watch out for these domains
    • compliance@dotfilings-fmcsa.com
    • compliance@usdots-fmcsa.com
    • @fmcsa-gov.com
    • @safer-usdot.com

Being vigilant and skeptical is your best weapon. Here are some of the things we talk about watching out for:

• Formatting is off on the rate confirmation
• Rate confirmation is missing information, like your company name
• The logo looks blurred or otherwise messed up
• The rate is well above market rate
• Email addresses with a domain that does not match the company
  • Gmail, Outlook, iÇloud, Yahoo, etc email domains are a big red flag
• New domains, you can check the domains age at https://www.whatsmydns.net/domain-age

Verify everything, especially when working with someone for the first time

• Independent internet searches
  • Call the phone number you find independently, not the one on the paperwork they gave you
• Your factoring company
• Get a second opinion from someone you trust or someone who is an expert