What is double brokering, and how do you spot a fake pickup?
Double brokering is when the company you hired passes your load to another carrier without your consent. A fake pickup is someone posing as your carrier, so check who is coming before you hand over a container or load.
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What is double brokering in trucking?
Double brokering means a load is passed to another carrier without the consent of the shipper or broker who tendered it. The company you vetted takes the load, and a company you never checked moves it.
Brokers are legitimate. A broker arranges a carrier for you, and you know a broker is in the middle. The problem is a company that accepts your load as the carrier, then quietly passes it on.
The load can pass through more than one company. Each one adds a party you did not check, holding your container and your paperwork.
It also hides who answers for the load when something goes wrong. The company on your rate confirmation may not be the one whose driver had it.
Is double brokering legal? Arranging freight as a broker is. Passing a load on without the consent you were promised breaks that promise. When a hand-off hides a theft, it is a matter for the police.
- A different name on the truck door
- Paperwork from a company you did not hire
- A new contact asking for the pickup number
- A rate far below every other quote
Any one of these is a reason to call the carrier you hired, on a number you already have.
How do fake pickups happen?
A fake pickup, also called a fictitious pickup, is when someone poses as the carrier you hired and collects your load. The setup can start with a message that seems to come from a company you already deal with.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre calls this kind of message spear phishing. Fraudsters pose as someone you already deal with. The message seems to come from the real address, which the Centre calls spoofing.
One version it lists targets businesses with an existing supplier: a spoofed email announces new payment details. The same trick works on freight. A message that seems to come from your carrier changes the truck, the driver or the pickup time.
The Centre's advice fits freight too. Check with the sender using contact details you already have, not the ones in the message.
- An email domain one letter off
- A carrier writing from free mail
- A new callback number
- A pickup moved at the last minute
- Pressure to skip a check
Why is cargo theft a risk in the GTA?
In a July 2023 release, Peel Regional Police called the Region of Peel the largest cargo hub in Canada. CN Brampton is in Peel, and CPKC Vaughan is next door in York Region.
Project Big Rig
Peel Regional Police reported a joint investigation into tractor trailer and cargo thefts in Peel and across the GTA. Read the police release.
Project Mock Up
Peel investigators reported breaking up a group tied to organized cargo and vehicle theft in Peel and the GTA. Read the police report.
Check every time
Neither case was a fake pickup. Both show that freight here is a target, so make the checks below on every load.
What can you check at tender?
Check the company before you send the container number or the pickup number. Six checks, and none takes long.
Who is on the rate confirmation?
The carrier's legal name should match the company you vetted and the name on its papers.
Is it registered in Ontario?
Ask for its carrier registration certificate. You can also order a public abstract of its record from the province.
Is the insurance in its name?
Ask for a certificate of insurance before the first load. The named insured should match the rate confirmation.
Is re-brokering ruled out?
Ask for a written clause that the load is not passed to another carrier without your consent.
Does the domain match?
Tenders should come from the carrier's own domain. Not free mail, and not a look-alike one letter off.
Did you call back?
Call the carrier on a number you already have. Never use the number in a new or changed message.
What can you check at pickup?
Make sure the driver and truck at your dock belong to the carrier you hired. If anything does not match, stop and call.
Match the name
The carrier name on the truck and the paperwork should match your rate confirmation.
Ask for the load number
Ask the driver for your load or container number. Do not read it out first.
Call on a known number
If anything differs, call the carrier on a number you already have before you release the load.
Never act on email alone
A changed pickup instruction sent only by email is a reason to call, not a reason to release.
At the ramp, the pickup number from your ocean line is meant for the trucker you hire. Give it only to that carrier, and ask your forwarder and customs broker to do the same. If you suspect fraud, contact your local police and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
What does Setara Transport do?
One carrier behind every load we accept, and simple ways to check that a tender is really ours.
- Tenders, rate confirmations and invoices come from @setara.ca addresses
- The dispatch number is (905) 745-2322
- Our registration and insurance certificates, in the carrier packet
- The full list: how to confirm a tender is ours
- Carry your load on our own trucks and sign for it as the carrier
- Pull containers on our own chassis
- Say so at tender if we cannot cover a load
Ontario CVOR: held. The number and the certificate are in the carrier packet. Insurance is in force. Auto liability, cargo, general liability and non-owned chassis cover. We do not publish limits or insurer names; the certificate comes with the carrier packet.
A load accepted by Setara Transport is not passed to another carrier without your written consent. We do not re-broker. If we cannot cover a load, we say so when it is tendered. Brokers and forwarders can request the carrier packet. The rule is section 12 of our conditions of carriage.
Double brokering questions.
What is double brokering?
What is a fictitious pickup?
How do I know who is carrying my load?
How do I check that a tender is really from Setara Transport?
Does Setara Transport re-broker loads?
More answers for importers.
How do you choose a drayage carrier?
Carrier or broker, and what to askWho hires the trucker: you or the line?
Merchant haulage or carrier haulageHow do you confirm a tender is ours?
The checks we publishAll answers
Every answer for importers and forwardersWant one carrier behind your container? Talk to dispatch.
Send the container number, the ramp and the delivery address. We tell you how we would cover it.