Fictitious Pickups at Peak: How a Pallet Should Be Released to a Carrier, Read Against CargoNet and FBI Guidance

By Bernardo Campelo, Forbes Business Council E-Commerce Leader, Amazon SPN Certified provider, Amazon SP-API authorized partner, and Founder of PrepVia.

As of October 29, 2026, Verisk CargoNet's second-quarter analysis, published August 6, describes a cargo theft problem that shrank in volume and grew in cost. CargoNet documented 677 theft incidents in the United States and Canada in Q2 2026, 26 percent fewer than a year earlier, while estimated losses more than doubled: $304.6 million, against $135.7 million in Q2 2025. One category barely moved. Incidents classified as theft fell from 488 to 378, but fictitious pickups went only from 165 to 158.

A fictitious pickup breaks nothing. A truck backs into a dock, the paperwork looks right, and the shipper's own team loads the freight. The FBI's advice, in a public service announcement dated April 30, 2026, starts at that moment: "Independently verify shipment requests and pickups using secondary methods prior to releasing any loads."

For a brand moving LTL or full truckload freight from a 3PL to Amazon, that release happens at someone else's dock, on a carrier that Amazon, the brand or a broker picked. With Thanksgiving on November 26, 2026, this post covers what CargoNet, the FBI, FMCSA and Amazon publish about that handoff, what a dock can check, and what to ask your warehouse before peak.

Every date and name below was checked on October 29, 2026 against the FBI, the Federal Register, the Manhattan District Attorney's office, Amazon's newsroom and Amazon's Seller Central help pages, linked where they first appear. Verisk CargoNet and FMCSA material is quoted from their releases and pages as published; CargoNet figures carry the date of their release and are replaced every quarter, and Amazon edits its help pages without notice.

What a Fictitious Pickup Is, and Why a Good Carrier Doesn't Stop It

On its cargo theft page, the FBI says strategic theft "involves the use of fraud to trick shippers, brokers, and carriers into handing loads over to thieves instead of the legitimate carrier," and fictitious pick-ups are on its list of current trends, next to identity theft, account takeovers, double brokering and fraudulent carriers. The FBI adds that thieves use data taken through phishing to print copies of legitimate shipping paperwork for those pickups. The Department of Transportation's September 2025 request for information on cargo theft lists "fraudulent carriers, staged diversions, cyber-enabled thefts, and insider collusion" as strategic theft and says reporting is "fragmented and inconsistent," with limited national-level visibility, which is why the numbers below come from CargoNet.

The choice of carrier does not settle it, because these groups go after loads that are already booked. In its third-quarter 2025 analysis, published October 28, 2025, CargoNet said they exploit the fact that "most anti-fraud tools focus on the shipment tender phase." They collect details on shipments already assigned to legitimate carriers, down to the names and contacts of individual staff, and then, in CargoNet's words, "they impersonate company representatives to misdirect drivers."

CargoNet's 2025 annual analysis, published January 21, 2026, expected more of the same this year: deception groups focused on "misdirecting shipments tendered to legitimate carriers, sidestepping compliance controls that have traditionally centered on the tendering process itself." That moves the risk past the tender, to the pickup and to the trip after it, and the dock controls only the first of the two.

What CargoNet's 2025 and 2026 Numbers Say

CargoNet, which the FBI lists as a resource, has tracked reported cargo theft in the U.S. and Canada since 2010. Its recent releases point the same way.

By our math, fictitious pickups were about 23 percent of the incidents CargoNet counted in Q2 2026 (158 of 677). Theft fell 22.5 percent year over year; fictitious pickups fell 4.2 percent.

CargoNet tied part of the drop to fewer non-delivery schemes run through acquired motor carriers and fewer thefts of unattended loaded trailers, and it recorded less organized activity against unattended, loaded equipment in South Florida and Dallas-Fort Worth. Schemes built on business email compromise and shipment misdirection "remained comparatively stable" in California and Texas.

CargoNet called business email compromise "the primary access point for many of the quarter's most sophisticated cargo theft schemes," and said a compromised account may let criminals "impersonate trusted parties and alter shipment details while appearing legitimate." The request then reaches the dock from an address the dock already trusts.

Thanksgiving, Year-End and the Days Around the Holiday

CargoNet's 2025 Thanksgiving advisory counted 79 cargo thefts in its 2024 Thanksgiving analysis period, a 64.58 percent increase from 48 in 2023, after 29 in 2021. In its words: "Criminal activity typically intensifies in Q4 and reaches peak levels in December."

The same advisory ranks the states in its Thanksgiving analysis: California with 67 incidents, Illinois with 27, Texas with 26, Florida fourth with 15 and Georgia with 11. It calls the New York City metropolitan area "a major hub for sophisticated shipment misdirection schemes," and its first recommendation is to "verify the legitimacy of all carriers and freight brokers."

For the year-end holidays, CargoNet's December 19, 2025 advisory flagged December 23, 2025 through January 2, 2026 as a period of elevated risk, citing holiday closures, reduced staffing and longer freight dwell times. Across five of those windows it recorded 353 events, and December 23 was the busiest single day. California led with 84, then Texas with 41, and Illinois and Florida with 32 each.

Labor Day shows the timing. Across five Labor Day periods from 2021 through 2025, CargoNet's September 4, 2026 advisory counted 273 incidents, and 194 of them, 71 percent, fell on the Thursday, Friday, Tuesday and Wednesday around the holiday rather than on the long weekend. CargoNet says the pattern is consistent with deceptive pickup and non-delivery schemes, which "depend on live staff, active phone lines, and freight moving through normal business channels." It names one of two holiday risks "verification exposure," when reduced staffing and time pressure make it easier to impersonate a trusted carrier.

CargoNet has not published that split for Thanksgiving, so this is a reading, not a finding. Thanksgiving week has the same shape, and its working days are the ones to staff with experienced people.

How a Fictitious Pickup Reaches Your Dock

The FBI's April 30 announcement, titled "Cyber-Enabled Strategic Cargo Theft Surging," lays out a sequence it has seen since at least 2024. Threat actors get into broker and carrier systems through spoofed emails, fake URLs and compromised carrier accounts. Posing as a compromised carrier, they accept real shipments, pass them to partially unwitting drivers with manipulated bills of lading and change the destination. To make it hold, the FBI says, they "change the legitimate carrier's contact information with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and update insurance information."

CargoNet's Labor Day advisory adds that criminals may compromise carrier accounts, business phone systems or email, so the impostor may hold real access and recognizable contact details. Among the FBI's warning signs: contact about shipments in your company's name that you never authorized, emails that copy a real domain through a free provider, and phone numbers that are internet-based or used only briefly.

On June 3, 2026, the Manhattan District Attorney announced an indictment of eight people charged with conspiring to impersonate shipping carriers. According to prosecutors, they leased tractor trucks, affixed "the name and registration number of the real shipping carrier that was supposed to make the pickup," and collected goods at logistics sites in Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Jersey. In one theft, prosecutors say, a broker had sent the shipment details to the hackers after an email it believed came from a carrier it used often.

The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent. If they hold, the trucks carried the right company's name and number. Matching the name on the cab to the paperwork is necessary, and it is not enough.

In an April 29, 2026 Federal Register notice on its new registration system, Motus, FMCSA reported a significant increase in presumed fraud in which erroneous information about a registered entity is used, "resulting in cargo and monetary theft in the motor carrier industry," and said Motus verifies the identity of registrants. Nothing you check at the door changes: carriers keep their USDOT numbers, Motus did not eliminate MC numbers, and FMCSA's registration FAQs say phasing them out is still under consideration.

Amazon Partnered Carrier or Your Own Carrier: What the Dock Can Check

On Amazon Partnered Carrier LTL and FTL freight, the truck comes from Amazon's booking. The Partnered Carrier program page says Amazon selects the lowest-cost carrier rate for the freight-ready date, and the seller can pick another option with Change carrier. The assigned carrier appears in the Tracking details step of Send to Amazon and on the bill of lading, which Amazon generates on the morning of the pickup. Amazon's Partnered Carrier FAQ ties the final cost to "the final carrier assigned to your shipment," so the record to check is the bill of lading and the shipment page on pickup day, not an earlier email.

The pickup date, including any rescheduling, shows in the Shipping Queue, and the seller can move the freight-ready date until 5 p.m. local time the day before pickup. Partnered carriers "do not accept pickup appointments," per the FAQ. For Amazon Freight, Amazon's Amazon Freight LTL page says pickup happens between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on the estimated pickup date, that "You don't need to call to schedule a pickup," and that rescheduling goes through Amazon at least 24 hours before the pickup day starts.

That gives a partnered pickup a simple test: a legitimate change of date or carrier shows up in Seller Central. A call or email asking to move the pickup, swap the truck or change the destination gets checked there, and with a contact you already have, before anything is loaded.

At the dock, Amazon's instruction is direct: "Once the driver is docked, give the driver the bill of lading and begin loading the corresponding shipments." The warehouse clerk and the driver both sign once it matches the pallets loaded, and the shipper keeps a signed copy. With the carrier, Amazon says to use the Amazon reference number on the bill of lading, which "is different from your FBA shipment ID and is required for pickup and delivery requests." Our guide to the BOL, POD and FBA paper trail covers what goes on that page.

When a 3PL is the pickup site and the brand holds the Seller Central account, the setup matches the one Amazon's FAQ describes for freight shipped from a manufacturer: send the bill of lading to the site "and ask them to coordinate with the carrier for pickup," with the Amazon reference number. How that file travels is part of the control. Amazon emails the bill of lading to the shipment's contact address and posts it in Seller Central, so a version that arrives any other way, or that differs from the one in Seller Central, gets the same check as a new phone number.

With your own carrier, the vetting is yours. Amazon's carrier requirements page says that when you select a carrier, "you are responsible for making sure it complies with the requirements below." Only authorized USDOT carriers with an NMFTA-registered SCAC can book fulfillment center appointments, after registering with Amazon and at least 24 hours ahead. Amazon says a carrier may be missing from its Prepaid Carrier List if it lacks an active USDOT number or has under two years of operating tenure, but it also says the list is not exhaustive and recommends that you "continually evaluate any carrier that you select."

For a yardstick, Amazon's May 28, 2026 article on how it fights freight fraud says carriers on its own Relay network need driver's license and real-time photo checks, interstate USDOT authority active for at least 180 days, an FMCSA rating of "Satisfactory" or "None," and at least $1 million per occurrence in commercial general liability. That is Amazon's own network; the article does not say which of these checks apply to the partnered carrier at your dock.

Seals follow the shipment type. Amazon's seller requirements for LTL, FTL and FCL deliveries say that since September 12, 2024, full truckload and intermodal shipments must be sealed at pickup with Amazon-approved RFID seals and the seal number on the bill of lading; drivers can refuse a trailer without them. LTL and small parcel carriers apply seals at their consolidation terminal, so an LTL pickup leaves your dock without one. The truck-day steps are in our post on full truckload into Amazon from a prep center.

The Release Check, From the FBI, FMCSA and CargoNet

No agency publishes one checklist for a shipper's dock. Here is their advice, in the order a dock meets it.

"A fictitious pickup doesn't break in. Someone hands it the freight. Before a pallet leaves any dock, the truck at the door should match the carrier on the bill of lading, and the pickup should be confirmed on a number you already had, not the one in the email."

Bernardo Campelo, Founder of PrepVia

• Match the truck to the paperwork. FMCSA's guidance on broker and carrier fraud and identity theft says to "confirm the name and numbers on the truck that shows up to load are the same as the one with which you contracted," record tractor and trailer plates and request pictures. On a partnered load, match against the carrier on the Amazon bill of lading.
• Confirm the pickup on a number you already had. CargoNet's year-end advisory puts it first: "Verify pickups and appointment changes using known, trusted contact methods (call-back to verified numbers on file)." Its vice president of operations, Keith Lewis, said never to rely "solely on email, text, or caller ID."
• Know the limit of a lookup. FMCSA says to check a carrier's phone number in its SAFER system and call the number posted there if yours does not match. The FBI also says "familiar names or email addresses alone do not confirm authenticity," and that criminals have changed carriers' contact information with FMCSA. A number on file before the request beats one looked up after it.
• Confirm the driver, not just the company. The FBI tells carriers to work with shippers "to confirm positive identities of drivers at the point of pick up," including truck and trailer identifiers, and to "use a secure pick-up number for security measures."
• Write it down before the doors close. The FBI suggests documenting every party: photos of drivers, licenses, vehicles, plates, cab and truck numbers, the USDOT and MC numbers, and contact details.
• Record, don't add paperwork. The Amazon Freight LTL page says partnered LTL carriers do not pick up from warehouses that require additional documentation outside of the bill of lading. On partnered freight, the check is something your team records, not extra paperwork the driver has to sign.
• Treat every late change as a new request. CargoNet's advice covers "appointment changes," and its Labor Day advisory warns that a criminal who changes a delivery address or contact after pickup "can bypass controls that focus only on carrier selection." A changed carrier, truck, driver or destination gets verified like the original pickup.
• Don't trust paper alone. FMCSA notes that "even insurance certificates can be fraudulent." Our post on certificates of insurance and bailee coverage covers what a certificate proves.

If a load is stolen, the FBI asks for a police report and a complaint at ic3.gov or to your local FBI field office. What the carrier owes and how Amazon reimburses partnered freight are covered in our posts on released value on LTL and partnered carrier or own carrier reimbursement. For a legal dispute, talk to your attorney and your insurer.

What to Ask Your 3PL Before Peak

A brand shipping from a 3PL is not standing at the dock, so the release check is something you ask for in writing. Add these to your 3PL RFP or your next quarterly review.

• Who releases the freight? Which role compares the truck with the carrier on the bill of lading, and who can hold a load when they don't match.
• Which number gets called? When a pickup, carrier, driver or destination changes, which number on file the warehouse calls, and when it was recorded.
• Where does the bill of lading come from? How you send it and the Amazon reference number, and what happens when a different version arrives by email.
• Who checks Seller Central? On partnered freight, who confirms the carrier in Send to Amazon and the date in the Shipping Queue on pickup day.
• What gets recorded at release? The driver, license, truck, trailer, plates, and USDOT and MC numbers the FBI lists, and how long the records are kept.
• Who is on the dock at peak? Which days around Thanksgiving and the year-end holidays the dock is open, and whether the people who verify pickups work those days.

A prep center or 3PL controls the release at its own dock: staging, matching, loading, signing the bill of lading and recording the truck. It does not control the freight after the driver signs, and CargoNet notes that theft can happen "at tender, pickup, or after a legitimate carrier has taken possession." PrepVia ships Amazon partnered LTL and FTL from 8507 NW 72nd St, Miami, FL 33166; ask these questions of any 3PL you evaluate, PrepVia included.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a fictitious pickup?

A form of strategic cargo theft, which the FBI describes as fraud that tricks shippers, brokers and carriers into handing loads to thieves instead of the legitimate carrier. The FBI lists fictitious pick-ups among its current trends.

How common are fictitious pickups in 2026?

Verisk CargoNet's Q2 2026 analysis, published August 6, 2026, counted 158 fictitious pickups, against 165 in Q2 2025, out of 677 incidents in the quarter, about 23 percent by our math, while incidents classified as theft fell from 488 to 378.

Does Amazon Partnered Carrier protect against fictitious pickups?

It gives the dock a reference, not a guarantee. Amazon assigns the carrier and shows it on the Amazon bill of lading and in Send to Amazon, so the truck at the door can be checked against that record. CargoNet says organized groups also target loads already assigned to legitimate carriers and impersonate company staff to misdirect drivers, so any change to the pickup, carrier or destination still gets verified with a contact already on file.

Is calling the number in FMCSA's SAFER system enough?

It is one step. FMCSA recommends it, but the FBI says criminals have changed carriers' contact information with FMCSA, and CargoNet warns that phone systems can be compromised. A number you had on file before the request is the stronger check.

Do LTL shipments to Amazon need a seal at pickup?

No. Amazon's seal-at-pickup rule covers full truckload and intermodal shipments, which since September 12, 2024 need an Amazon-approved RFID seal with its number on the bill of lading. LTL and small parcel carriers seal at their consolidation terminal.

When does CargoNet see more cargo theft around the holidays?

CargoNet says criminal activity typically intensifies in the fourth quarter and peaks in December; last year it flagged December 23 through January 2. In its Labor Day analysis, 71 percent of incidents fell on the working days around the holiday. Thanksgiving 2026 is November 26.

Final Take

Fictitious pickups held steady in CargoNet's Q2 2026 count while other theft fell, and the FBI's advice comes down to one moment: verify through a second channel before a load is released. On partnered freight, the Amazon bill of lading and Seller Central give the warehouse a record to check; on your own carrier, the vetting and the record are yours. Before Thanksgiving, get three answers in writing from your warehouse: who checks the truck against the bill of lading, which number they call when anything changes, and what they record before the doors close.