How global crime rings kidnap the supply chain of America

Fracht theft rings aim at the US delivery chain with a highly developed cyber tactic

In a trend that security experts call national security threat, criminal networks are increasingly aimed at America's supply chain with demanding systems, which leads to an annual loss of almost 1 billion US dollars. These operations, which are often orchestrated from overseas, use the very digital systems that were developed for the rationalization of the logistics processes.

“This must be taken seriously at the national level and is considered one of many national security threats that we are currently facing,” a law enforcement officer told CNBC in their recent investigations into freight theft.

The extent of the problem has reached unprecedented values. According to the CNBC report, 3,798 incidents have already reported in 2024, which corresponds to an increase of 26% compared to 2023. Industry experts appreciate the losses to almost 1 billion US dollars a year, although the actual number may be higher due to the subordination.

“At the moment it is at an all -time high. We have never seen it so badly since 2009,” said a Courtney Reagan security expert from CNBC.

The new face of the freight theft

In contrast to conventional freight theft with physical burglaries, today's most expensive programs concern, as security experts refer to as “strategic freight theft”-in essential digital deception operations that manipulate the legitimate processes of the supply chain.

These schemes work like sophisticated cat operations operations. Criminal networks have pretended to be legitimate brokers – the middlemen who connect shipper with truckers – on industry platforms such as DAT. They apparently publish legitimate vacancies that attract actual truckers who unknowingly become farmers in theft.

In a case documented by CNBC, criminals thought a legitimate brokerage business after receiving registration by phishing attacks. Then they pointed out legitimate truckers to pick up from Amazon Warehouses and to deliver them to non -authorized places. The truckers, who followed up according to their instructions, had no idea that they took part in the theft.

“The evil leads the good to do the dirty work for them,” Reagan explained in the CNBC report.

A global criminal company

What makes these thefts particularly difficult to fight is their international nature. According to sources in the CNBC examination, these criminal operations were attributed to at least 32 countries.

Pakistan was emphasized as an example of a country in which both legitimate corporate transactions and criminal operations aim at the US logistics. This double presence creates significant challenges for law enforcement and security specialists.

The appeal for criminals is obvious. “If there is very little risk, but the reward is very high, the return on investment is almost 100%. Why should you stop?” An expert in the CNBC report.

Corporate reaction

Companies defend themselves with improved security measures. At Overhaul, a supply chain security company presented in the CNBC examination, the employees in Austin and Mexico city monitor the programs in real time and searched for suspects that could indicate theft.

The technology warning signs such as unexpected stops, especially in “red zones” first 200 miles after departure, identify the security experts as high-risk areas for freight theft.

When Lululemon (whose goods were addressed) was addressed by CNBC, she explained “decisive measures against freight theft”. Meta refused to express the theft of his Ray Ban glasses and oculus headsets, while Nike did not respond to repeated inquiries to stolen Air Jordans.

If the supply chains are increasingly digitized, the susceptibility to these sophisticated attacks can continue to grow. Since criminals from beyond the US boundaries and the non-violent nature of these crimes operate from operating for extended law enforcement resources, the industry faces significant challenges when securing the country's supply chain.