How do I spot a fake carrier?

Why a real MC number is not enough

In an April 2026 public service announcement, the FBI warned that criminals are impersonating legitimate freight businesses to hijack and reroute shipments. The scheme it describes often starts with spoofed emails whose links lead to a fake website and install remote monitoring software, giving the criminals hidden access to a broker’s or carrier’s systems.

Posing as the compromised carrier, they accept real shipments, and they change that carrier’s contact information with FMCSA and update its insurance information. The FBI adds that the real carrier may not realize anything is wrong until brokers call about missing loads booked under its authority.

That is why a phone number or email address on the public record is not automatically safe to rely on. A record that looks right is where the check starts, not where it ends.

What to look at on the record

FMCSA’s SAFER Company Snapshot is free and can be searched by MC number. It shows the entity type, USDOT status, any out-of-service date, the operating authority, the legal and DBA names, the physical address, the phone number and the MCS-150 form date.

Carriers must update their MCS-150 every 24 months, and a carrier that fails to do so can have its USDOT number deactivated. A very recent form date on an established company is not proof of fraud, but it is a good reason to call the company on a number you found yourself before you tender.

Warning signs the FBI lists

• Contact from brokers, dispatchers or carriers about shipments made in a company’s name that the company did not authorize.
• Email from a free email provider dressed up as a company address, or from a domain changed slightly: extra punctuation, a different ending, an added prefix or suffix, or a misspelling.
• Requests to download documents or forms through shortened or spoofed links.
• Phone numbers that are internet-based (VoIP), app-based or used only for a short time, some linked to overseas numbers.

Step-by-step check before you tender

1. Look up the MC number on the SAFER Company Snapshot and confirm the operating authority lists carrier authority, such as Motor Carrier of Property, and not broker authority alone. What a broker MC number means.
2. Confirm the USDOT status is active and the out-of-service date reads None.
3. Compare the legal name, address and phone number on the record with the email signature, the carrier packet and the rate confirmation. Get an explanation for any mismatch before going further.
4. Call the company on a number you found yourself, not the one in the email, and ask it to confirm the dispatcher’s name and this load. The FBI advises independently verifying shipment requests and pickups through a second method before releasing any load.
5. Read the sender’s email domain letter by letter, and treat a free email account used for company business as a reason to verify again.
6. Confirm the insurance with the insurance agent directly rather than trusting a certificate the carrier sent. How to verify a carrier’s insurance.
7. At pickup, document the driver, license, truck, plates, cab and truck numbers and the DOT and MC numbers, as the FBI recommends. A commercial truck must show the operating carrier’s legal or trade name and its USDOT number, so compare the door with the carrier on your rate confirmation.
8. Keep the file. Brokers must keep a record of each transaction, including the carrier’s name, address and registration number, for three years.

What to watch out for

• A familiar name. The FBI says familiar names or email addresses alone do not confirm who you are dealing with.
• Your own inbox. New or unauthorized mailbox rules, such as forwarding to outside addresses, automatic deletion or hidden folders, are one of the signs the FBI lists. Check your rules regularly.
• Pressure to skip the callback. A real carrier can wait a few minutes for a call on its listed number. Treat any push to skip that call as a warning sign.
• A clean record treated as approval. The record tells you what FMCSA has on file. It does not tell you who is on the phone.

If you think it is a fake carrier

Do not release the load. If a load has already been taken, the FBI asks victims to file a police report with their local police department and a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov, or to contact their local FBI field office. What to do if a load gets stolen covers the full sequence.