It seems a week can't go by without a major broker dealing with some kind of cargo theft or double brokering.
Famous recent examples include ITS trying to "offset" its way out of paying $85,000 for 62 uncontested, claim-free loads hauled by carrier Illyrian Trans after the broker fell victim to a hacker and ultimately lost track of a load of Continental Tires.
Before that we heard about a $400,000 lobster heist right before the holidays.
About 18 months ago, Anne Reinke, then the head of the Transportation Intermediaries Association, the biggest trade group for brokers, described the freight market as in the grips of a "fraud apocalypse." That meant more carrier vetting, more hoops to jump through, and ultimately, higher costs for brokers and carriers.
Has anything changed since then?
Well, there's a new sheriff in town at the DOT, but one year into the new administration, and regulatory efforts on broker transparency haven't budged. DOT Secretary Sean Duffy did make some noise about cracking down on illegal brokering, and FMCSA hinted to Overdrive that transparency rule enforcement could play a role, but no big moves so far.
Of course, this DOT has been plenty busy hammering a way on English language proficiency enforcement, non-citizen drivers and shady CDL schools, and ELD tampering.
To kick off 2026, Overdrive wants to get a baseline on just how widespread freight fraud like double brokering has become. To help guide our research, writing, inquiries and official communications to regulators and big businesses, please fill out the survey below.
