Season of theft: how to take care of your cargo during Thanksgiving season

The risks of cargo theft activity in the U.S. are “extremely high” during this Thanksgiving holiday, warns CargoNet. In its previous Supply Chain Risk Trends Analysis for the Third Quarter of 2023, CargoNet recorded a total of 692 merchandise thefts in the third quarter of the year, marking a 59% increase compared to the previous year. It cautions that this upward trend will continue during the Thanksgiving season.

CargoNet claims that strategic theft groups exploit holiday seasons due to the heightened pressure on logistics agents, making them more susceptible to errors. This increasing pattern of cargo theft should attract the notice of all industry professionals.

Theft is categorized as follows:

Strategic merchandise theft

Thieves obtain cargo by posing as a carrier or using an authority they have registered or gained access to. Scammers implement strategies with the intention of taking over their accounts or persuading them to request shipments from logistics agents on their behalf, avoiding identity theft verifications that a logistics agent may perform before bidding on a shipment.

Full truck threat

Due to the neglect of shipments during the holiday period, the possibility of full truck cargo theft increases. Thieves focus their actions on shipments of construction equipment, off-road vehicles, non-alcoholic beverages, as well as appliances of various sizes.

Primary affected states

* California

* Illinois

* Georgia

Main target locations

* Parking lots

* Warehouses

* Truck stops