First Quarter Findings
The following indicates the key takeaways from Sensitech’s latest report, released last week:
*Cargo theft in 2020’s first quarter rose 49% when compared to 1Q 2019, totaling 217 incidents.
*While the value of stolen cargo decreased 9% YOY, it surged 23% over 4Q 2019, averaging a loss of $105,659 per incident. Fortunately, 1Q 2020 experienced zero reported thefts over $1 million.
*The miscellaneous category ranked #1 in commodity thefts (29%), followed by food & drinks (15%), home & garden (11%), electronics (10%), and building & industrial (9%), rounding off the top five.
*While dropping 8% over Q4 2019, California remained the state with the most cargo thefts (19% of incidents), followed by Texas and Illinois (12%), Florida (11%) and Georgia (8%).
*When it came to value, Tobacco experienced the highest average loss at $247,185, followed by Metals ($246,200) and Personal Care ($157,201).
Cyber Theft-Pharmaceutical/High Risk Industries
Whether you are a shipper, manufacturer, carrier, or consumer, cybercrime affects everyone and has become a growing issue in the trucking industry throughout the years. More and more instances of fraudulent companies using online methods to develop and steal freight are erupting, posing a concern for those shippers utilizing brokers, since they do not know who exactly is handling their freight or if the company now entrusted with their goods is legit.
Thieves are securing these loads often through brokers who post their loads online, and who do not always vet out drivers before handing them your shipment. This can result in fraudulent companies stealing your freight or double brokerage schemes.
According to FreightWatch, double brokerage schemes are “largely made possible through online brokering sites that criminal elements use to impersonate legitimate carriers, and win business from shippers…Of course the loads never arrive at the destination and are never seen again.”
Take, for example, 2012 when Pauline Robinson-Kirkland was charged with six counts of fraud after setting up over 15 trucking company names from January 2006 to December 2009, using these companies to bid on loads posted online. (1) Once a load was granted, Robinson-Kirkland would ask for payment to be sent to her company, while reposting the same load, never informing the carrier that it was being double-brokered. (1) Robinson-Kirkland received nearly 69 payments, never paying the carrier who actually transported the freight.
High risk targets, such as food and pharmaceuticals, when under the wrong hands, can cause serious effects to consumers if they are tampered with and then sold, not to mention the costs of a lost shipment.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been an increased demand for pharmaceutical and healthcare to push products to market faster. Such high risk industries rely on technology for greater supply chain visibility which, unfortunately, can leave them vulnerable to cyber risks.
As Benzinga notes, “an extra set of padlocks is no match for invisible attacks in the form of malware and ransomware.” In fact, according to Proofpoint, in 2018 Fortune 500 drug makers “saw a 150% jump in impostor emails.” What’s even more astonishing, in 2017 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) issued a report revealing that “10% of all drugs in circulation are counterfeits.” (2) The American Society for Microbiology believes that nearly “one million people die annually from ingesting fraudulent medications.” (2)
It is important to know that your freight is being transported by a reputable carrier and qualified drivers who are background checked and properly trained, like Road Scholar Transport. Whether it is pharmaceutical transport, hazmat/chemical shipping, temperature controlled, or high risk products, we have the technology and security you need to protect your products during transport. Contact us today for a rate quote.
(1)http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=23924
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