How Cargo Thieves (and Their Phones) Are Wasting Your Time—And What to Do About It

If you’ve been in freight long enough, you know that every week there’s a new scam making the rounds. There’s double brokering, where bad actors slap their name on a load they have no intention of covering. Then came carrier identity theft, where fraudsters pose as legit trucking companies, book freight, and disappear. And now? Cargo theft is surging, with criminals getting bolder and more sophisticated.

This is a massive multi-million dollar problem for the industry. According to data from Verisk, CargoNet: 

🚨 Cargo theft hit record-breaking levels in 2024, with 3,625 reported incidents—a 27% jump from 2023.

🚨 The average value per theft climbed to $202,364, up from $187,895 the year before.

🚨 Texas and California were hit hardest, with Dallas County thefts skyrocketing by 78% and Los Angeles County seeing a 50% surge.

Brokers are fighting organized fraud rings, spoofed MCs, and burner phone calls. It’s no longer just a matter of checking a carrier’s FMCSA status; bad actors sound real, look real, and flood your phone lines with fake credentials, hoping to slip through the cracks.

And let’s be real—they’re wasting your time.

The Challenge: Manual Carrier Qualification Amidst Rising Fraud

Freight brokers traditionally rely on their carrier sales teams to manually answer and vet every inbound call. This process is time-consuming and exposes operations to increased risks, especially as fraudulent activities become more sophisticated. 

Every time you post a hot lane, you don’t just get calls from quality carriers; you get everyone.

• The good: Trusted, vetted carriers you actually want to work with.
• The bad: Unqualified carriers with no business moving your freight.
• The ugly: Fraudsters using spoofed numbers, stolen MCs, and burner phones trying to weasel their way into a load they have no intention of delivering.

And the biggest issue: they all sound the same at first.

Your team picks up the phone, asks a few vetting questions, and before you know it, they’ve wasted 15-20 minutes just figuring out who’s real and who’s running a scam. Multiply that by dozens of calls per day, and suddenly, half your team’s time is spent doing fraud detection instead of booking freight.

This is the hidden cost of cargo theft. It’s the cost of fraudsters clogging up brokerages, slowing down carrier sales teams, and making it harder to move loads efficiently. 

Why AI and Call Automation Are Becoming Freight’s New Gatekeepers

Now, let’s talk about the tech shift that’s happening in freight. AI isn’t just for chatbots and load-matching algorithms anymore—it’s now tackling carrier calls head-on.

Rather than letting every call ring through to your team, AI-driven screening is stepping in to:

 ✅ Filter out fraud before your team even picks up.

 ✅ Verify carrier credentials in real-time.

 ✅ Prioritize high-quality calls, so your reps spend time talking to the right people.

Instead of manually vetting every call, forward-thinking brokerages are letting AI do the heavy lifting using tools like WireBee. 

WireBee addresses these challenges by automating the front-end screening of inbound carrier calls. Its AI-powered system ensures that carrier sales teams engage only with pre-vetted, qualified carriers. WireBee users report: 

🚀 3x more productivity—without adding headcount.

🚀 Fewer wasted calls, more meaningful carrier relationships.

🚀 A broker team that actually enjoys their job, because they’re not stuck playing detective all day.

Real-World Impact: Testimonials from Industry Professionals

The effectiveness of WireBee is reflected in the experiences of its users:

Johnny, Agency Owner at SPI:

"I've been using WireBee for my logistics operations, and I can confidently say it's been a game-changer. What used to take 15-20 minutes now takes only 5, saving us significant time and boosting our productivity. One of the standout features is its ability to screen calls, allowing us to choose which carrier we want to answer. This means we only speak to the best carriers, ensuring top-notch service and reliability."

John, Capacity Team Manager at Phalanx Logistics:

"Working on the operations side of the brokerage, my team is constantly answering calls and vetting carriers. WireBee’s call screening ensures that every call we take is meaningful, connecting us with qualified carriers who meet our company’s standards. Posting popular or high-demand lanes to load boards used to be a headache, as we had to sift through unqualified carriers and scammers. Now, these calls never make it through to us. WireBee has noticeably upped the speed and efficiency of my team."

These are real brokers, seeing real efficiency gains, simply by shifting their call screening process to smarter, AI-powered filtering.

The Future of Freight: Smarter, Not Harder

Cargo theft isn’t going away, and as fraud tactics get more sophisticated, so should the way brokers filter out the noise. f your team is still manually qualifying every inbound carrier call, it’s time to ask:

1. Is this the best use of their time? 
2. How much revenue is being lost to wasted calls? 
3. What would your brokerage look like if your team only spoke to pre-vetted, qualified carriers? 

The phone lines aren’t getting any quieter. But how do you handle them? That’s up to you. 

Learn how freight brokers are reclaiming their time with smarter call screening → Click here to see WireBee in action.