WORLD NEWS ‘We have seen an increase in pilfering incidents over the


last year and a half. Values are going up due to more theft of electronics. Thieves can get $80,000 to $100,000 for two pallets of electronics. It’s easy to launder those products and


sell them in bulk or dispose of them on the black market.’ Scott Cornell, Travelers Insurance


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Values are going up


Awareness of cargo pilfering in North America has been on the rise since 2014, according to Cornell, and an effort has been mounted to increase the reporting of those incidents. “We have seen an increase in pilfering incidents over the last year and a half,” he said. “Values are going up due to more theft of electronics. Thieves can get $80,000 to $100,000 for two pallets of electronics. It’s easy to launder those products and sell them in bulk or dispose of them on the black market.” Stealing boxes and pallets, Cornell also noted, allows thieves to circumvent tractor and trailer GPS tracking devices.


As an example of the scams used by thieves to steal cargo, TAPA reported that in November, a fake carrier insinuated itself in a subcontractor’s pool of suppliers and was later found to be responsible for the theft of goods. The carrier worked normally for two weeks before being assigned to collect a particular load. The driver used documentation, license plates, and insurance information from a legitimate UK company to assist in the theft of the cargo.


When it comes to countering pilfering, raising the level of awareness of the problem among drivers is a key measure that carriers can take. “Drivers should be educated to do a walk around of the truck before they get back on the road after every stop,” said Cornell. Without that, it’s impossible to know for sure where the theft took place, and that hamstrings law


enforcement efforts to catch perpetrators and recover goods."


High-security rear door locks are also available to harden potential targets of crime. “They are not impossible to defeat,” noted Cornell, “but thieves are more likely to pass on trailers with that type of equipment, especially when there are less-secure alternatives available to them.”


Technology and security


Technology has also stepped up to help secure truck cargo. “The cost of covert tracking devices has dropped significantly over the last few years and are now very affordable,” said Cornell. “Some of these devices can tell you when the door is open and if the trailer is empty. Others can monitor routes and can determine if a load has gone astray."


Unfortunately, thieves, too, deploy technology to their advantage. Sniffers are able to detect tracking devices on board and jammers can scramble the signal. “These are commonplace in Europe and Latin America,” said Cornell. “They started to arrive in the US in 2014 and their use has been increasing.” Thieves have also been known to use 3D printers to duplicate container and trailer seals.


The current situation is likely to continue, according to Cornell. The thieves are always “looking for ways to throw us off base,” he said.


“They will always be devising methods to keep us on our toes.”


This article written by journalist Peter Buxbaum originally appeared in the American Journal of Transportation and is republished here with the kind permission of Peter and the publisher.


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