6 red flags of carrier fraud (and how to catch them before it’s too late)

From fake signage to identity swaps, carrier fraud tactics keep evolving. How do you spot a fraudster who looks like every other driver at your dock? These aren’t back-office problems. They hit in the moment, when loads are booked, when shipments are created, and when drivers walk up to the dock.Overhaul FraudWatch blocks fraud at every one of those stages.
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6 red flags of carrier fraud

Double brokering

A load is booked with one carrier, but another shows up to haul it. Sometimes that handoff is legitimate, but when it’s hidden, the risks stack up fast, including uninsured freight, lost visibility, and zero accountability if something goes wrong. For fraudsters, it’s the easiest way to move freight under the radar or make it disappear entirely.

Overhaul FraudWatch spots those hidden swaps. By tracking the carrier from shipment creation through departure, it flags when the truck at your dock doesn’t match the one that was booked. That way, your team cantell the difference between a transparent handoff and a red flag.

Fake or altered signage

At a busy dock, nobody has time to scrutinize every truck pulling in. Fraudsters know this, which is why they rely on cheap tricks like temporary USDOT numbers taped to doors, manipulated decals, or signage that looks official at a glance but won’t hold up under pressure.

Overhaul FraudWatch closes that gap with red flag photo detection AI. It reviews required pre-departure photos instantly, validates that signage matches what’s expected, and flags any signs of manipulation or temporary identifiers.

Driver impersonation

A fake or borrowed license, a mismatched photo, or a driver who isn’t authorized to haul for the booked carrier can all slip past busy staff under time pressure. One missed detail can mean freight is in the hands of the wrong person.

Overhaul FraudWatch strengthens that checkpoint. It validates license format and status, matches a driver’s selfie to the license photo, and confirms that the driver is tied to the booked carrier. Instead of relying on a quick glance, teams get a verified identity check before freight moves.

Insurance gaps

A carrier may look legitimate on paper but still be missing required coverage or carrying policies that don’t match the load. Those gaps put freight, liability, and customer trust at risk if something goes wrong on the road.

Overhaul FraudWatch folds insurance data into its risk scoring, surfacing carriers with expired, inadequate, or missing coverage before they’re booked. Teams get a clear signal on whether insurance aligns with requirements, without digging through paperwork.

High-risk history

A carrier’s risk isn’t just about today; it’s about patterns over time. Repeat late pickups, safety violations, or past fraud activity all raise the odds of future problems. Without visibility, those carriers can blend back into the pool unnoticed.

Overhaul FraudWatch brings those patterns to the surface. It tracks historical trends from your own network, such as carriers that have hauled with Overhaul before, alongside critical safety and compliance data from the FMCSA. Teams get a clear view of carrier reliabilityand regulatory standing, with risk scores that update as performance changes.

Known bad actors

Some risks don’t hide in paperwork. Instead, they come from carriers and drivers already tied to fraud or cargo crime. Without intelligence on past activity, these bad actors can reappear under a new load and slip through unnoticed.

Overhaul FraudWatch pulls in proprietary data and enforcement records to flag known offenders. If a carrier or driver has been linked to fraud, theft, or other serious violations, Overhaul FraudWatch surfaces that history up front so your team can shut the door before another incident occurs.

“Overhaul is a great company to work with and I have learned quite a bit working with the Overhaul staff.”

— SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGER, HOSPITAL
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The importance of fraud prevention

Fraud doesn’t just drain revenue. It ties up staff in investigations, delays freight for customers, and damages trust that takes years to earn. The costs keep stacking long after the shipment is gone.

Overhaul FraudWatch stops those losses in motion. By surfacing risks before freight moves, it helps teams block unsafe carriers, prevent fraudulent pickups, and keep operations running without disruption. The result is stronger margins, smoother workflows, and a carrier base you can actually rely on.

1. Unlock hidden value: Many organizations are sitting on a wealth of data that can be transformed into actionable insights. This includes dwell times, carrier performance metrics, and compliance data, to name a few things. 
2. Maximize existing investments: Customers are already paying for data management solutions. And yet, their data often sits there unused. Overhaul helps them approach this data as an asset rather than a burden.
3. Upgrade for enhanced visibility: Overhaul works with you to find a cost-effective solution. By investing a little more, organizations can access comprehensive dashboards that provide real-time data and reporting capabilities.
4. Transform security data into a logistics leg up: Security data can drive operational efficiency and customer trust, turning perceived costs into strategic advantages. But if you don’t understand your data, you can’t really use it. That’s why Overhaul makes it easy to access and utilize.
5. Address data sharing concerns: Overhaul encourages companies to share data across teams to facilitate better collaboration and decision-making. We also make it easy to get this information to the right stakeholders without risking it reaching the wrong hands.

See Overhaul FraudWatch in action. Join our October webinar.
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Overhaul’s AI infrastructure security

When it comes to managing AI cargo, the question every manufacturer should be asking is: Who’s watching your shipments? Overhaul stands as your premier defense. We vigilantly monitor your AI hardware whether it’s on the move, on site, or at the edge of deployment.

Additional challenges within the supply chain

Several converging trends are reshaping the logistics of AI hardware transportation. Firstly, the acceleration in permitting processes for data centers has drastically reduced approval times from years to mere months. This shift demands that hardware deliveries align closely with accelerated construction schedules to meet the new, faster build timelines.

Additionally, the immense power requirements of AI workloads are already impacting utility infrastructures, necessitating significant upgrades and direct investments in substations. These grid constraints can cause delays that affect hardware manufacturers by extending lead times and complicating logistics planning.