Cyber-Enabled Cargo Theft Investigations

Your Examiner

Matt Aubin, CDFE, FBCI

Managing Partner, E3 Legacy Intel · FL Licensed Investigator A-1400197

Every matter on this page is worked under a named, licensed examiner. Matt Aubin brings seventeen years in cybercrime and open source intelligence. He is a Certified Digital Forensics Examiner (CDFE), a Florida Board Certified Investigator (FBCI), and a Certified AI Agent Developer, and he has investigated cases jointly with the FBI, the SEC, the U.S. Secret Service, and the U.S. Marshals.

His work has been featured on ABC News, Spectrum News, and The Daily Beast, and in a television pilot for Netflix and MAC Pictures as a cybercrime expert. He keynotes nationally and serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida Association of Licensed Investigators (FALI). About Matt Aubin

Cargo theft is no longer just hijacked trucks. It increasingly starts on a keyboard, with stolen carrier credentials, spoofed identities, and fictitious pickups that let thieves drive away with a full load before anyone realizes the broker was talking to an impostor. We identify the people behind these schemes and map the network moving the freight.

If loads are disappearing through fictitious pickups or identity theft, the actors behind it leave a digital trail. Contact us for a confidential consultation.

Cargo Theft Is Now a Cyber Crime

The fastest-growing form of cargo theft does not involve breaking into anything. Thieves steal or spoof the identity of a legitimate carrier or broker, book a real load through the same systems everyone else uses, and pick it up with paperwork that looks correct. By the time the load is reported missing, the truck, the company name, and the phone number are all gone.

This is strategic, organized, and often transnational. Stolen motor-carrier credentials, fraudulent email domains, and fictitious pickups are the tools. The freight is then resold or diverted, frequently surfacing through the same online channels that move other stolen goods. It is a theft problem and a cyber problem at the same time, which is exactly where most traditional approaches fall short.

Cyber-enabled cargo theft, taken apart

We work the digital trail. A fictitious pickup leaves evidence: the accounts, domains, phone numbers, and identities used to impersonate a legitimate carrier. We trace those back to the people behind them.

We connect the freight to the network. The stolen load does not disappear. We follow it toward resale and tie it to the same actors running the scheme.

We map the operation. The brokers, drivers, staging locations, and the leadership coordinating it, charted into one picture.

We build it for action. Documented, sourced, and structured to support civil recovery, insurance claims, and referral to law enforcement and cargo-theft task forces.

What is a fictitious pickup?

A fictitious pickup is when a thief poses as a legitimate trucking company or broker, books a real shipment through normal channels, and collects the freight with paperwork that appears valid. The carrier the shipper thinks they hired never shows up, because the load is already gone.

Because the theft runs on stolen identity and credentials rather than force, stopping it means identifying the people behind the impersonation. That is an unmasking problem, not a security-guard problem, and it is the work we do. For the resale side of organized theft, see our organized retail crime investigations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is cargo theft a cyber crime?

Increasingly, yes. The fastest-growing form of cargo theft relies on stolen credentials, spoofed carrier identities, and fictitious pickups rather than physical force. The freight is taken using fraud and identity theft, which makes it as much a cyber and unmasking problem as a physical-security one.

What is a fictitious pickup?

A fictitious pickup is when someone impersonates a legitimate carrier or broker, books a real load through normal channels, and drives away with the freight using paperwork that looks valid. The genuine carrier never arrives because the shipment is already gone.

How do thieves steal freight with stolen credentials?

They obtain or spoof a real carrier’s identity, including motor-carrier numbers, company names, and contact details, then use it to win and collect loads through the same systems shippers and brokers already trust. The fraud happens before any truck moves.

Can the people behind cargo theft be identified?

Yes. Identity-based theft leaves a digital trail: the accounts, domains, numbers, and identities used to impersonate a carrier. We trace those back to the people running the scheme and map the network moving the freight, documented for recovery and law-enforcement referral.

Do you work with law enforcement and insurers?

Yes. Our work product is built to support insurance claims, civil recovery, and referral to law enforcement and cargo-theft task forces. We are investigators, not attorneys or adjusters, so we deliver the identifications and evidence and support the people who act on them.

LET’S TALK

Bring us the problem. We will tell you plainly whether investigation can help.

Fill out this form and set up a discovery call with us. From there we will analyze the issues you are having and determine your intelligence needs. Then we will develop a custom, no-obligation quote for our services, delivered in writing before you commit to anything.

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Map the Entire Theft Network

Cargo theft is run by organized crews. With lawfully-sourced geolocation intelligence and criminal network mapping, we start at the hijacking or warehouse-breach scene and reconstruct the whole operation, the devices present, the route the load traveled, the staging yards and fences, and the people behind them, so you can pursue the entire ring, not just one truck.

Tell us what happened

A licensed examiner reads every inquiry. You get a written, flat fee quote before any work starts. Or call (877) 732-6648.