CARGO crime is changing rapidly, with criminals increasingly sophisticated in a digital world, analysts say.
The International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) and the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) Europe Middle East Asia (EMEA) have produced research documenting what they say is an “alarming rise in cargo theft and freight fraud across global supply chains”.
TAPA president and chief executive Thorsten Neumann said “although conventional theft from trucks and warehouses are still prevalent, cargo crime is evolving”.
“We are seeing criminals using digital tools to conceal their true identities, the creation of shell companies and legitimate firms being cloned using stolen credentials,” Mr Neumann said.
“Forged email addresses, look-alike domains and fake insurance certificates are increasingly common. Our concern is that artificial intelligence will accelerate these activities, making deception easier to scale and significantly driving up losses.”
Meanwhile freight exchange platforms were said to have a crucial role to play in preventing cargo fraud, according to IUMI secretary general Lars Lange.
Mr Lange said freight exchange platforms were “a crucial element in the fight against cargo fraud are freight exchange platforms”.
“They have a key responsibility to ensure no bogus carriers can operate on these platforms,” he said.
“IUMI and TAPA EMEA encourage these platforms to implement robust identity verification and fraud detection protocols, including multifactor authentication."
According to TAPA’s intelligence system, nearly 160,000 cargo-related crimes were recorded across 129 countries between 2022 and 2024, with total losses estimated to reach several billions of Euros.
IUMI and TAPA EMEA are calling for “urgent action” by supplychain stakeholders and governments.
The organisations have jointly published advice for shippers, logistics providers and insurers aimed at strengthening resilience against both physical and digital threats.
Recommendations include: