Episode 06 of the Fight Fraud Series with Dana Randazzo, COO, Auto Hauler Exchange
Key takeaways
- Six red flags show up before pickup: conflicting dispatcher and driver information, a shifting ETA, book-and-cancel behavior, no full VIN, a rushed driver, and a rate well below market.
- Book-and-cancel is often information harvesting, not indecision.
- The releasing location needs the carrier name, arrival window, and confirmed delivery address before the driver arrives.
- Searching the delivery address on the driver's bill of lading takes 30 seconds and catches double brokering at the lot.
- Red flags only work when they're posted where every staff member can follow them.
29% of shippers report hitting vehicle transport fraud in the past three years, according to AHX's State of Transparency in Vehicle Transportation research. Most of them didn't know it was coming. The schemes that hit dealers 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: An ETA that keeps shifting all day
A carrier who promises to arrive within the hour three times across an afternoon either isn't en route or is working from dispatch details that don't match reality. Legitimate carriers communicate clearly when they're running late. Constant shifting without explanation signals something is wrong.
Red flag 3: A carrier who books and quickly cancels
A carrier who books a load and cancels quickly may have been harvesting information. When a fraudster books a load, they can gain access to the details you entered: pickup location, delivery address, vehicle year, make, model, and VIN. That's enough to construct a convincing fake pickup. They cancel the legitimate booking, then send a fraudulent driver using the details they just collected. The fake paperwork looks real because the details on it are real.
On AHX, carriers don't see full details until they're within the vicinity of the delivery location, and patterns like rapid book-and-cancel are monitored and flagged. On open load boards, nobody is watching. The carrier books, cancels, and disappears before anyone connects the behavior to the fraudulent pickup that follows.
Red flag 4: A driver who arrives without the full VIN
If a driver shows up with only a year, make, and model, stop. A legitimately dispatched carrier has the full 17-digit VIN. A fraudster who scraped vehicle information from a listing will often have only the general description.
Red flag 5: A 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 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 once they have your vehicle in transit, or they're trying to win the load before you complete vetting. In all three cases, slow down and verify before booking.
The information the releasing location needs before a driver 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 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 three things before the driver arrives: the carrier company details, the expected arrival window, and the confirmed delivery address. On AHX that information is visible in the platform, along with the DOT number, the COI, and the driver's name and phone number, so it can be passed to the releasing lot. Without anyone chasing it down. Off-platform, the buyer has nothing to check against when a driver arrives.
If a releasing location doesn't have that information and a carrier shows up, 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 bill of lading 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 each other, and they should match the delivery address you authorized.
If any of these produce hesitation, inconsistency, or evasion, call your transport provider before releasing any vehicle.
Red flags only work if everyone at the lot knows them
The same red flags that catch fraud for a meticulous wholesale manager get missed entirely when that person is out and a less experienced staff member is running releases. Awareness that lives in one person's head isn't a control.
The way these become structural is a posted checklist at every release location. The same checklist, same enforcement, every time, regardless of who's working.
For more on evaluating carriers, read Reliable Auto Transport: How to Choose a Partner You Can Trust.
For specific scheme guidance, read 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.
FAQ
What are the warning signs of a fraudulent carrier?
Conflicting information between dispatcher and driver, an ETA that keeps moving, rapid book-and-cancel behavior, a driver without the full VIN, a driver rushing the handoff, and a rate well below market.
Why would a carrier book a load and immediately cancel?
Booking can expose pickup and delivery details, vehicle information, and the VIN. Cancelling after collecting that data lets a fraudster build convincing paperwork for a fake pickup.
What should I do if the driver's paperwork shows a different delivery address?
Don't release the vehicle. A delivery address with no connection to the buyer is one of the clearest signs of double brokering.
Who should the releasing lot call if something looks wrong?
The buyer, directly. Not the dispatcher and not the driver. Confirm who they hired and where the vehicle is supposed to go.
Sources: AHX State of Transparency in Vehicle Transportation.
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