Phantom Freight Scams Boost Cargo Crime Rates

Nearly 160,000 cargo-related crimes were recorded across 129 countries between 2022 and 2024, according to the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA). Total losses reached several billion euros, and theft schemes are only getting more sophisticated.

Cargo criminals are using digital tools to conceal their identities and pose as legitimate logistics partners—both companies and individual drivers—to trick staff at warehouses and distribution centers to voluntarily hand over shipments of cargo.

Sources

Transported Asset Protection Association: “IUMI and TAPA EMEA warn of escalating cargo theft and freight fraud”

American Transportation Research Institute: The Fight Against Cargo Theft: Insights from the Trucking Industry

Verisk CargoNet: 2025 Supply Chain Risk Trends

Payment Dispute Standards & Compliance Council: “Phantom Freight: What Is It and Why Should Merchants Be Worried?”