The FBI Philadelphia Field Office issued an alert to the transportation and logistics sector about a significant increase in cargo theft scams targeting businesses nationwide.

Criminal organizations are increasingly using sophisticated cyber-enabled tactics to steal high-value shipments, resulting in substantial financial losses and supply chain disruption, the field office added.

In 2025, estimated cargo theft losses in the United States and Canada reached nearly $725 million, a 60 percent increase from 2024, while confirmed cargo theft incidents increased by 18 percent, according to government data.

A recent FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) public service announcement indicated cyber-enabled strategic cargo theft surged dramatically in 2025.

Criminals are using phishing emails, spoofed websites, compromised business accounts, and fraudulent load postings to impersonate legitimate brokers and carriers, gain access to company systems, and reroute shipments for theft and resale.

“Criminals continue to exploit any opportunity for profit, including our nation’s transportation and logistics sector,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, special agent in charge of the FBI in Philadelphia. “The FBI is committed to staying ahead of evolving threats, from working with our law enforcement partners to intelligence sharing and developing relationships across the public and private sectors. Through FBI Philadelphia’s ongoing engagement with our transportation and logistics partners across the region, we are exchanging timely threat information to identify and mitigate potential vulnerabilities, increasing awareness of emerging cyber and criminal threats, and reinforcing prevention efforts. These partnerships are critical in disrupting criminal activity and protecting this crucial sector on which our business and communities rely every day.”

In response, FBI Philadelphia has conducted outreach and engagement with transportation and logistics partners throughout the region. The efforts are designed to strengthen partnerships with the private sector, raise awareness of emerging cargo theft trends, and share best practices to help businesses identify and mitigate potential threats, the field office said.

The FBI identifies several forms of cargo theft, including:

• Straight cargo theft: the physical theft of freight from trucks, warehouses, rail yards, distribution centers, or other storage locations.
• Strategic cargo theft: schemes involving fraud and deception to trick shippers, brokers, or carriers into transferring cargo to criminals.
• Cyber cargo theft: theft facilitated through cyber intrusions, phishing campaigns, account compromises, and other cyber-enabled tactics.
• Pilferage cargo theft: the theft of a portion of a shipment, often involving altered documentation or concealment efforts.

Businesses should remain vigilant and reinforce security measures by:

• Independently verifying shipment requests, carrier information, and pickup details through trusted channels.
• Thoroughly vetting carriers, brokers, and new business partners.
• Implementing multi-factor authentication and strong cybersecurity practices.
• Maintaining detailed records of shipments, drivers, vehicles, and delivery documentation.
• Monitoring for unauthorized changes to account information or suspicious communications.

Criminals involved in cyber-enabled cargo theft often use deceptive communications to impersonate legitimate businesses and disrupt shipment processes, the FBI stated.

Red flags to watch include:

• Contact from brokers, dispatchers, or carriers regarding shipments made in a company’s name that were not authorized.
• E-mails spoofing legitimate company domains using free e-mail providers (e.g., dispatch.FBITrucking@[provider].com instead of dispatch@FBITrucking.com).
• Requests to download documents or forms via shortened or spoofed web links.
• E-mails referencing negative service reviews that direct recipients to “review” or “resolve” complaints, which may contain malicious links or downloads.
• Unauthorized mailbox rules, including automatic forwarding, auto-deletion, or hidden folders.
• Domains or e-mail addresses mimicking legitimate ones through minor variations, including:
  *Extra punctuation (fb-i.gov)
  *Different top-level domains (fbi.com, fbi.us)
  *Added prefixes or suffixes (thefbi.gov, fbie-mail.gov)
  *Misspellings (fbii.gov, fdi.gov)
• Use of spoofed or altered e-mail addresses that add names or titles before legitimate-looking addresses.
• Use of VOIP or temporary phone numbers, including applications and numbers that may originate overseas or change frequently.

The FBI Philadelphia Field Office encourages companies that experience cargo theft, attempted cargo theft, or suspicious activity to report it to law enforcement immediately. Anyone who believes they may be the victim of cargo theft or a cyber-enabled cargo theft scam should report it to the FBI through the Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov, the tips webpage at tips.fbi.gov, or by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI.