Vericarga

10 signs of a phantom carrier

What to check before you send a transport order. Identity theft is now one of the main ways cargo disappears in Europe: in Spain, each case costs over €85,000 on average, and a 2023 survey found that one in four Romanian freight forwarders had already lost goods this way. It almost always starts with an email. These are the signs that keep coming up.

  1. The domain looks similar, but it isn’t the same.

    One letter more or less, an added hyphen, or .com instead of .es or .de. Read it letter by letter.

  2. The email isn’t the one registered on the exchange.

    Compare it with their profile on your freight exchange. Many exchanges also have a free email checker.

  3. They write about a load they never viewed.

    If they don’t appear under “who viewed my offer”, ask yourself how they know about it.

  4. They use another company’s exchange ID or membership number.

    The ID doesn’t match the name or the domain in the signature.

  5. A brand-new company or domain.

    A domain registered days or weeks ago, or a new or reactivated exchange account. One insurer recommends working only with carriers that have been on the exchange for at least six months.

  6. They accept your price without haggling, or have a truck when nobody else does.

    If it seems too easy, call before you send the transport order.

  7. They want to take the conversation off the exchange straight away.

    “Better on WhatsApp”, a mobile number or a personal email.

  8. The phone number in the signature isn’t the one on the profile.

    Or you call the company’s official landline and nobody there knows anything about your load.

  9. The documents don’t add up.

    The VAT number isn’t valid in VIES or belongs to another company, or the CMR insurance can’t be confirmed with the insurer. Bear in mind that PDFs can be forged, and some sets mix genuine and fake documents.

  10. Last-minute changes.

    A different plate, a different driver or a change of destination mid-route.

If you see two or more signs

  • Don’t send the transport order or the loading address by email.
  • Call the number on their exchange profile, not the one in the email.
  • When you reply, type the address yourself instead of pressing “Reply”.
  • Warn your team and report it to the exchange. If they’ve already loaded, contact the police and your insurer immediately.
  • A two-minute check is almost always enough. Rushing you is exactly what they want.

Vericarga runs checks 1 to 5 and the VIES check from point 9 automatically on every Gmail email, and tells you what to do if something’s off. Green means “everything checked matches”, not “100% safe”: for high-value loads, always call. Try it free for 30 days

Sources: FENADISMER (2026); CETM (2025); GDV (2025–2026); USER (2023–2026); Helvetia; trans.info. Vericarga isn’t affiliated with any freight exchange.