Protecting yourself from fraud is more important than ever. Fraud is a changing and complex topic, but we believe in making things simple. We’ve distilled basic fraud protection down to four key areas:
Know your customer: We’ll walk you through the steps to ensure you know exactly who you’re interacting with, reducing the risk of falling into a fraudster’s trap.
Know your online safety: The internet can be a minefield if you’re not careful. We’ll provide you with the tools and knowledge to navigate it safely.
Know your DAT resources: Our resources are a huge help in the fight against fraud. We’ll explain what they are and how you can use them to your advantage.
Know how to respond: If you do encounter fraud, knowing how to react and report is crucial. We’ll give you a step-by-step guide on what to do.
Know your customer
How brokers can protect themselves
- Confirm carrier’s phone number – If a carrier calls on a load you’ve posted, note the number shown on your caller I.D. Does it match the phone number listed on the FMCSA website or in SAFER System? Scammers can easily obtain a phone number that looks very similar to the number on file with these official agencies. If the numbers don’t match, call the number listed with FMCSA or SAFER to confirm the caller is an employee of the company.
- Check the email address – When sending your broker packet to a carrier, check to see if the email provided by the carrier matches what’s listed on the FMCSA website or the SMS Results section of SAFER. If those sites list the business email as john@USAtrucking.com and the caller provides johnUSAtrucking@gmail.com, be suspicious and call the company directly.
- Consult the DAT Directory – The DAT Directory lists all carriers/brokers/shippers who are DAT customers. Cross-check the contact information in the directory and go to the company reviews section to see what other brokers are saying about this carrier.
- Check insurance certificates – Review the insurance certificate provided by the carrier. Call the insurance underwriter listed in the FMCSA site to ensure that the carrier has the proper insurance. Alternatively, you can subscribe to DAT CarrierWatch. It lists ALL active and inactive carriers and contains insurance certificates obtained by DAT’s compliance team directly from the insurance agent — not provided by the carrier. CarrierWatch will even notify you if there is a change in the carrier’s insurance, safety or DOT authority.
How carriers can protect themselves
- Keep your contact information up to date – If a broker or shipper suspects fraud, they will most likely contact you using the official information listed with FMCSA and SAFER. If that information is out of date, they will have no way of confirming whether a caller is legitimate or not.
- Answer your phone and email – A broker can’t confirm whether someone is a legitimate employee of your company if no one answers the phone or the voicemail is full. Same thing with email. Remember: DAT will never contact you via email from an email that isn’t domained at dat.com.
- Know if a rate is too good to be true – A common way a fraudulent broker can attract a carrier is to offer a rate that’s well above average. Most DAT load board subscriptions include information from DAT RateView that shows the average lane rate paid, right next to the load post.
- Keep your insurance certificates on file with DAT – This will allow brokers to compare the certificate provided by a possible scammer with the certificate DAT obtained directly from your insurance agent.
- Consult the DAT Directory – The DAT Directory lists all brokers who are DAT customers. Cross-check the contact information provided by the caller with the directory. While you’re there, check the company reviews section to see what other carriers are saying about the broker.
Know your online safety
Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
MFA is an authentication method that requires the user to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to a system. DAT and industry leaders like FMCSA require MFA. With identity theft in the transportation industry at an all-time high, implementing MFA can help eliminate some bad players from stealing a legitimate company’s identity. If you have the option to turn on MFA in any application or software, we encourage you to use it.
How MFA helps
- Increased security: MFA enhances security by adding an additional layer of verification beyond just a password. Even if a password was to be compromised, the thief would need access to your device to access your account.
- Reduces risk of unauthorized access: Needing access to a device plus your password significantly decreases the risk of unauthorized access to your account and information.
- Reduces fraud in the industry: As fraud continues to grow in the transportation industry, customers look to us for solutions. MFA is one step DAT is taking to help protect against this increased threat.
Password complexity & stopping bad actors
We’ve strengthened our monitoring and authentication, including resetting customers’ passwords with new requirements. This move aims to stop bad actors before they enter our load board.
We have also added vetting and restrictions on access to our products. This ensures that only legitimate users can gain access, further protecting our customers and the integrity of our platform.
At DAT, we are committed to providing you with a secure platform where you can confidently conduct your business. We will continue to innovate and implement security measures that safeguard your digital identity and data.
Know DAT’s resources
Knowledge is power. Study up with DAT’s fraud resource library. Familiarize yourself with the latest news and updates about fraud in logistics with DAT’s library of fraud protection resources. When you visit, you’ll find resources like:
- Webinars covering fraud protection
- Links to report bad actors to TIA’s watchdog organization
- Overviews of scams we most commonly see
Know how to respond
If you think you’ve been a victim of identity theft, we suggest you take these steps:
- Notify your bank
- Notify your credit card companies
- For cargo theft and fuel advance scams:
- File a police report. Some local police agencies will discourage this since there isn’t much they can do. However, if they at least take a report and assign a case number, it provides you with a record of the crime that you may need later.
- File a report with your local office of state investigation. This could be either the State Police or a State Bureau of Investigation.
- File a complaint with FMCSA
- Contact your regional Office of Inspector General – OIG Directory
- Report bad actors – Have you encountered fraudulent actors in your network? Don’t let them get by – report them to us so we can ensure other users won’t encounter them and they are removed from DAT’s ecosystem. We maintain a 100% response rate to these reports. Additionally, if you become the victim of a cyber crime, immediately report it to IC3.gov.
- Don’t hesitate to ask questions – As always, DAT is here to help. If you’d like to speak to our compliance department, please call 800-547-5417 or email us at compliance@dat.com.
For more on the fight against fraud, head to dat.com/fraud-protection.
