According to OOIDA, which advocates for small-business truckers, several members have reported receiving deceptive emails aimed at stealing a motor carrier’s authority.

These scam emails, posing as official communication from FMCSA, contain attachments labeled as MCSA-5889 or MCS-150 forms and request the recipient’s USDOT PIN.

“Although the emails come from a .gov domain, these emails are not from FMCSA,” says Crystal Minardi from OOIDA’s Business Services. “FMCSA will never ask you for your PIN on a manual form. We are advising our members not to reply.”

Instances of this scam have already been brought to FMCSA’s attention. If you receive such an email, do not fill out the attached form or respond.

If you believe your company has fallen victim to this fraud or identity theft, visit FMCSA’s website and click on the Fraud Advisory link to report the incident. Additionally, victims should contact the DOT Office of Inspector General by calling 800-424-9071 or emailing hotline@oig.dot.gov.

Source: Land Line

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On Thursday, May 23, OOIDA emailed its roughly 150,000 members, directly urging them to back HR8505.

Named the Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Act, this bill also offers significant protections for truck drivers.

Introduced on Wednesday, May 22, by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., and Rep. Mike Ezell, R-Miss., HR8505 seeks to restore and solidify the FMCSA’s authority to impose civil penalties on fraudulent individuals. It also mandates that brokers, freight forwarders, and carriers provide a valid business address to FMCSA before obtaining operating authority.

“Small-business truckers are victimized through unpaid claims, unpaid loads, double-brokered loads or load-phishing schemes on a daily basis,” OOIDA wrote. “Yet, current DOT practices restrict fraud enforcement, enable bad actors to operate with impunity and force out drivers who want to build sustainable trucking careers.”

OOIDA is highly encouraging its members to contact their lawmakers to support HR8505, as it could result in major progress in fighting fraud within the industry. Freight fraud is a significant issue in the trucking industry, costing over $800 million annually. Motor carriers suffer from unpaid claims, unpaid loads, double brokering, and load-phishing schemes.

“Freight fraud committed by criminals and scam artists has been devastating to many small-business truckers simply trying to make a living in a tough freight market,” said Todd Spencer, OOIDA president. “OOIDA and the 150,000 small-business truckers we represent applaud Del. Holmes Norton and Rep. Ezell for their bipartisan leadership to provide FMCSA better tools to root out fraudulent actors, which are also harmful to consumers and highway safety. Because of the broad industry support for these commonsense reforms, we hope this bipartisan legislation will move through the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee without delay.”

Contacting lawmakers is easy on FightingForTruckers.com, where truckers can locate their representatives by entering their zip code and sending a message of support in minutes.

In addition to OOIDA, the bill is endorsed by the Transportation Intermediaries Association, American Trucking Associations’ Moving and Storage Conference, National Association of Small Trucking Companies, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, Institute for Safer Trucking, and Road Safe America.

Source: Land Line

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The newly formed Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Registration Fraud Team will operate within the agency’s registration office, focusing exclusively on aiding victims of registration fraud and devising strategies to prevent its occurrence.

“It’s a small team that doesn’t exist now, but we think it will go a long way towards helping the industry,” said Ken Riddle, director of FMCSA’s Office of Registration. “… We’ve heard from every corner of the industry about how bad fraud is right now, and the one thing we’ve heard loud and clear is, ‘How can FMCSA help?’ We took that very seriously, so we’re looking at every way that we can help mitigate it.”

Instances of fraudsters infiltrating the FMCSA’s registration system, utilized for granting motor carrier and broker operating authority, as well as certifying insurance providers, have been reported. These perpetrators register fictitious drivers and companies, resulting in motor carrier identity theft and hindering the FMCSA’s safety monitoring efforts.

Immediate measures being implemented or planned by the FMCSA include suspending online PIN requests for accessing accounts and transitioning to multifactor authentication for all public-facing IT systems.

“We used to send those numbers online per request, but we can’t do that anymore because there was too much fraudulent activity with that,” Riddle said. “Now, the only way to get a PIN number to access an account is to request it, and we will mail it to the address on file. It’s not convenient or expeditious, but it’s a small measure we took to help reduce the fraud.”

Moreover, stricter criteria are being enforced to verify principal places of business during registration.

“This will help prevent some of these virtual, fraudulent, fake addresses that applicants are submitting for the sole purpose of committing fraud on the industry,” Riddle said. “We’re going to have the 800,000 existing registrants go through this identity verification process in order to weed out the bad actors that may already exist in the system.”

In the long term, the FMCSA intends to enlist external contractors to offer identity and business verification services. These short- and long-term initiatives will be integrated into an updated registration system, which is slated to replace the existing Unified Registration System.

Recently, the FMCSA announced its intention to seek approval from the White House Office of Management and Budget to collect new information crucial for establishing the revamped system.

Source: FreightWaves

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The key changes that the FMCSA is implementing include the discontinuation of MC numbers and the transition to USDOT numbers as the primary identifier for all entities. These changes, along with the stricter verification processes, are expected to significantly reduce instances of fraud. Moreover, they will also simplify the registration process for carriers, brokers, and freight forwarders, making it more efficient and less time-consuming.

“Obviously, we’ve had our registration system in current form for many years,” said Tom Keane, associate administrator of the Office of Research & Registration at FMCSA. “It was robust when it was originally designed, but it’s become very dated over the years and we need to modernize.”

FMCSA’s director of the Office of Registration and Safety Information, Ken Riddle, emphasized the urgency of these reforms, recognizing the need for enhanced protection of carriers. Initial measures, such as implementing identification and business verification tools, will be rolled out within the next 90 days.

“Freight fraud is at an all-time high,” Riddle said. “Every corner of the industry is experiencing fraud, whether on the carrier side, the broker side, you name it. We’ve heard from carriers and from the trade press asking ‘What can you do to help?’ We heard you, we’re listening, and we’re going to help.”

The revamped system will guide users through registration processes, verify information in real-time, and eliminate arbitrary wait times. By the start of fiscal year 2025, FMCSA anticipates a fully overhauled registration system with improved user experience and heightened security measures.

FMCSA plans to communicate these changes to stakeholders through industry events and outreach efforts. Additionally, entities will be informed directly, and cautionary measures will be taken to prevent scams targeting carriers.

“We can’t wait on a new registration system,” Riddle said. “We need to do it just as soon as we possibly can to mitigate fraud and protect you.”

The new system will introduce individual accounts for entities with inactive USDOT numbers resulting from non-compliance with requirements. Blanket companies will also have accounts, facilitating streamlined form completion.

Riddle provided a preview of the redesigned website and demonstrated its functionality, ensuring compatibility with mobile devices. These reforms signal FMCSA’s commitment to combatting fraud and enhancing efficiency in the trucking industry’s registration processes.

“Six months ago, fraud prevention wasn’t our priority,” Riddle said. “Today, it is. Because we heard from you and the industry how bad it is and how much it’s needed.”

Source: Commercial Carrier Journal

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Within the email, there is a link designed to resemble a legitimate URL on the Safer website, mimicking updates to FMCSA’s MCS-150 form. However, the linked page contains entry fields soliciting a carrier’s PIN, Employer Identification Number (EIN), and Social Security number.

The FMCSA emphasizes that providing these details could grant unauthorized access to the FMCSA account, enabling malicious parties to manipulate information and engage in fraudulent freight transactions, impersonating carriers and other entities.

Despite the convincing appearance of the email as originating from the FMCSA, the agency urges caution. They have also shared an image of the problematic module on the web page linked in the email, which has been carefully crafted to appear official.

“[Official safety audit communications] typically come directly from an FMCSA dedicated mailbox, or from the entity within the State that has been assigned the responsibility to conduct the safety audit,” FMCSA said. “While these emails typically end in a .gov extension, we encourage our stakeholders and customers to verify any email or communication they feel to be suspicious with the appropriate agency or contact your FMCSA Division Office directly to clarify.”

Source: Commercial Carrier Journal

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