Episode 06 of the Fight Fraud Series with Dana Randazzo, COO — Auto Hauler Exchange
29% of shippers report hitting vehicle transport fraud in the past three years, according to AHX's State of Transparency research. Most of them didn't know it was coming. The schemes that hit dealers in vehicle transport are designed to pass initial scrutiny — the carrier name is real, the paperwork looks right, the communication feels normal. The red flags are there. They're just easy to miss if you don't know what you're looking for.
Red flag 1: Conflicting information from dispatcher and driver
In a legitimate transport operation, the dispatcher and the driver are coordinated. Same load details. Same delivery address. Same contact information. When those don't match, something has broken down.
"If you're getting conflicting pickup times, that's an immediate red flag. If the dispatcher goes unresponsive for the day of pickup, these are red flags that the fraud has already occurred or is about to happen." — Dana Randazzo, COO, Auto Hauler Exchange
Red flag 2: ETA that keeps shifting all day
A carrier who says "I'll be there in an hour" three times across four hours either isn't en route or whose dispatch details don't match reality. Legitimate carriers communicate clearly when running late. Constant shifting without explanation signals something is wrong.
Red flag 3: Carrier who books and quickly cancels
A carrier who books a load and cancels quickly may have been doing nothing more than harvesting information. When a fraudster books a load, the can gain access to the details you've entered: pickup location, delivery address, vehicle year, make, model, and VIN. That's enough to construct a convincing fake pickup scenario. They cancel the legitimate booking, then send a fraudulent driver to pick up the vehicle using the details they just collected — details that make their fake paperwork look real because they are real.
On AHX, we don't allow carriers to see full details until they are within the vicinity of the delivery location, and any fraudulent patterns like booking and cancelling quickly are monitored and flagged. On open load boards, no one is watching. The carrier books, cancels, and disappears before anyone connects the behavior to the fraudulent pickup that follows.
Red flag 4: Driver arrives without the full VIN
If a driver shows up without the full 17-digit VIN, presenting only year, make, and model, stop immediately. A legitimately dispatched carrier has the VIN. A fraudster who scraped vehicle information from a listing will often have only the general description.
Red flag 5: Driver who rushes the pickup
If the driver seems rushed or is pressing you to move faster, pay attention. Legitimate drivers want a clean handoff with correct documentation. A driver who's trying to hurry past your verification steps has a reason to avoid them.
Red flag 6: A rate significantly below market
Transport pricing has a floor. Fuel, insurance, driver pay, and equipment costs create a baseline below which legitimate carriers can't operate profitably. A rate well below market typically signals one of three things: the carrier has cut corners on insurance or compliance, they intend to demand more money once they have your vehicle in transit, or they're trying to win the load quickly before you complete vetting. In all three cases, slow down and verify before booking.
The communication that has to happen before a driver ever arrives
The releasing location is often the last to know who's coming to pick up a vehicle — and sometimes the only information they have is that a carrier is supposed to show up. That information gap is exactly what fraudsters exploit.
The fix belongs to the buyer. Before transport begins, the purchasing dealer needs to push carrier details directly to the releasing location — not through the broker, not assuming the carrier will pass it along. The releasing location needs to know the carrier company name, the expected arrival window, and the confirmed delivery address before the driver shows up. That's the baseline. Without it, the lot has nothing to check against when a driver arrives.
If a releasing location doesn't have that information and a carrier shows up to pick up a vehicle, the right call is to contact the buyer directly before releasing anything. Not the dispatcher. Not the carrier. The buyer. Confirm who they hired and where the vehicle is going. That 60-second call has stopped more fraudulent pickups than any paperwork check.
This communication step is so consistently missing from dealer transport operations that Dana covers it as its own control in Episode 8. It's one of the most common points of failure — not because dealers don't care, but because no one has ever told them it's their responsibility to make it happen.
The 30-second check that catches double brokering at the lot
"Take that carrier's bill of lading, look at the delivery location on their paperwork, and Google it. Because then you're gonna find some little unsuspecting house, 150 to 300 miles away from the purchasing dealership." — Dana Randazzo
This takes 30 seconds. The delivery address on a fraudulent BOL is frequently a residential address or a commercial lot with no connection to the intended buyer. If the address on the driver's paperwork doesn't match the delivery address you authorized, don't release the vehicle.
Questions fraudsters have trouble answering
"What's the truck number and DOT for this pickup?" A dispatched carrier knows this. A fraudster may not.
"Who's the driver and what's their direct phone number?" Legitimate dispatch answers immediately. Fraudsters stall or give inconsistent information.
"Where is this vehicle delivering?" Ask both the dispatcher and the driver. The answers should match, and they should match the delivery address you authorized.
If any of these questions produce hesitation, inconsistency, or evasion, call your transport provider before releasing any vehicle.
Red flags only work if everyone at the lot knows them
A dispatcher who knows these red flags is not a system. A careful employee is not a system. Systems outlast people. The same red flags that catch fraud for a meticulous wholesale manager will get missed entirely when that person is out and a less experienced staff member is running releases.
The way these red flags become structural is through a posted checklist at every release location — the same checklist, enforced the same way, every time, regardless of who's working. That's what turns individual awareness into a repeatable control. And a repeatable control is what stops fraud on the days when your best person isn't there.
Download the free AHX Vehicle Release Checklist — step-by-step verification for every pickup: Get the Vehicle Release Checklist
For more on evaluating carriers: Reliable Auto Transport: How to Choose a Partner You Can Trust.
For specific scheme guidance: Five Common Auto Transport Scams and How to Avoid Them.
Watch Episode 6 free at autohaulerexchange.com/fight-fraud. Download the Vehicle Release Checklist at the same link.
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