How to prevent fictitious pickups at your dock

Why it keeps happening

Verisk CargoNet counted 158 fictitious pickups in the US and Canada in Q2 2026, against 165 a year earlier, even though events classed as theft fell from 488 to 378. It called business email compromise the primary access point for many of the quarter's most sophisticated schemes, which lets criminals see shipment details and change instructions while looking legitimate.

The dock checklist

• Before the appointment: have the booking with carrier name, MC or USDOT number and, if given, driver name and truck number.
• At the window: check the driver's licence and compare the name with the booking.
• Check the tractor plate, trailer number and any carrier markings against the booking; photograph them.
• Confirm with the carrier through a contact on file or on its FMCSA record, not the phone number or email the driver gives you.
• Treat last-minute changes of carrier, driver, truck or delivery address as unverified until confirmed through your normal channel.
• Apply stricter rules to high-value loads, new carriers and peak-season freight.
• Record who checked, what was checked and when, for every release.

Red flags at the window

• The driver cannot name the carrier's dispatcher or gives a different carrier name.
• The truck has no markings or markings that do not match the booked carrier.
• The load number is right but the appointment was moved by an email you did not expect.
• Pressure to release quickly or to skip the usual paperwork.

If you want this done every time

Pickup Proof runs the checklist as a two-minute driver check-in on the driver's phone, matches it to the booking, sends the carrier confirmation to its registered contact and keeps the log. From $49 a month per site.

Questions