In The News

A peek Into a cargo thief's bag of tricks

In interviewing security experts for our July cover story on cargo security, I learned about some of the latest tricks being used by cargo thieves:

Walking down a line of tractor-trailers and opening unsecured trailer doors to see if the load is worth stealing. Backing a tractor under a dropped trailer and driving off with it. Staking out locations where truckers pick up high-value freight, then following the truck to a truckstop or rest area. After the driver is out of sight, the truck is hot-wired or the ignition quickly swapped out and the whole rig driven off. Striking up conversations with drivers at truckstops or on the CB to find out if they're hauling something valuable and where they're taking it. Causing a minor accident with truck. While the driver is distracted, the trailer door is broken into. Before a rig leaves a warehouse with a high-value load, marking the trailer with a big X to alert members of the gang which trailer to steal. Damaging a light on a targeted trailer so the driver will have to pull over and get the light fixed, at which point thieves steal the load or hijack the rig. Posing as the legitimate driver arriving to pick up a load. When the real driver arrives an hour later, the thief is long gone. Bidding on brokered loads, which disappear before they get to their destination.
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