After seeing record-breaking levels of cargo theft for the past two years, one industry insider is forecasting that number to increase yet again in 2025.
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau – an Oak Brook, Ill.-based not-for-profit dedicated to combatting and preventing insurance crime – cargo theft losses in 2025 are expected to increase 22% over the previous year.
The reason for that bleak forecast, according to NICB, is the continued digitalization of the supply chain. While advanced technologies have increased speed and efficiency within the supply chain, the group said these have also “created gaps in security” that criminals are exploiting for their gain – resulting in “fraudulent pickups, fictitious pickups, fictitious carriers and cyber-enabled logistics manipulation.”
According to the group, some of the technologies being employed by thieves include:
- GPS jamming– Disrupts tracking systems and allows stolen cargo to be moved without detection. NICB agents have confirmed confiscations of these devices in cargo theft incidents and noted that thieves frequently disable GPS trackers, which are not concealed effectively.
- VoIP– Allows thieves to spoof legitimate carrier contact information and remain anonymous. These applications offer their customers the ability to select and utilize telephone numbers with any valid area code. Criminals are leveraging these services along with fictitious email accounts and altered Department of Transportation records to impersonate companies, bid on shipments and reroute freight to unauthorized drop locations.
- Synthetic IDs– Identities created from a mix of real and fake identifiers such as a Social Security number, date of birth and name, email address, address or phone number generally derived from stolen or leaked data.
- Phishing attacks– Scams where attackers deceive people into revealing sensitive information or installing malware such as viruses, worms, adware or ransomware.
“From the comfort of their own home or overseas, a criminal can use voice over internet protocol (VoIP), GPS and a synthetic ID to reroute electronics, medicine, clothing, food and beverages meant for your local store to their doorstep in another country,” Robert Bornstein, the group’s cargo theft program director, said in a statement. “The cost of these stolen goods is then passed along to the consumer.”
That potential increase would make for another year of record-breaking cargo theft numbers.
Last year, data from CargoNet showed a 27% increase in theft activity compared to 2023 – a year marked by record-setting levels of cargo theft. In fact, CargoNet said that each quarter of 2024 surpassed the previous records set in 2023.
In addition to the total number of theft incidents increasing, the estimated average value per theft also rose to $202,364 in 2024, up from $187,895 the previous year. CargoNet estimated a total loss of nearly $455 million in 2024 due to cargo theft.
The rise in cargo crime has gained the attention of lawmakers at both the state and federal levels.
In March, Arkansas took measures to increase the penalty for those convicted of “organized theft of cargo” by adding up to 10 years to the sentence. Individuals convicted of theft under the new legislation are not eligible to receive earned release credits for the enhanced portion of the sentence.
“These laws demonstrate that Arkansas lawmakers understand the economic threat organized retail crime and cargo theft pose to our industry and all consumers,” Shannon Newton, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association, said in a statement.
At the federal level, the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act aims to reduce cargo crime by:
- Strengthening legal tools for law enforcement by allowing criminal forfeitures for interstate shipment, transportation of stolen goods or sale of stolen goods convictions
- Expanding money laundering statutes
- Enabling prosecution of organized retail and supply chain groups using interstate or foreign commerce to facilitate crimes
- Mandating the creation of the Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center within Homeland Security Investigations and the Department of Homeland Security
The legislation currently has 101 co-sponsors from 32 states, including representatives from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. LL
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