Thieves pose as truckers to steal huge cargo loads

Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan.

To steal huge shipments of valuable cargo, thieves are turning to a deceptively simple tactic: They pose as truckers, load the freight onto their own tractor-trailers and drive away with it.

It’s an increasingly common form of commercial identity theft that has allowed con men to make off each year with millions of dollars in merchandise, often food and beverages. And experts say the practice is growing so rapidly that it soon will become the most common way to steal freight.

A generation ago, thieves simply stole loaded trucks out of parking lots. But the industry’s widening use of GPS devices, high-tech locks and other advanced security measures have pushed criminals to adopt new hoaxes.

Helping to drive the scams, experts say, is the Internet, which offers thieves easy access to vast amounts of information about the trucking industry. Online databases allow con men to assume the identities of legitimate freight haulers and to trawl for specific commodities they want to steal.

Besides hurting the nation’s trucking industry — which moves more than 68 percent of all domestic shipments — the thefts have real-world consequences for consumers, including raising prices and potentially allowing unsafe food and drugs to reach store shelves.

News reports from across the country recount just a few of the thefts: 80,000 pounds of walnuts worth $300,000 in California, $200,000 of Muenster cheese in Wisconsin, rib-eye steaks valued at $82,000 in Texas, 25,000 pounds of king crab worth $400,000 in California.