Global Cargo Crime Hits Record Highs as Criminals Target Oversized Freight and Cyber Vulnerabilities 

Cargo crime is rapidly evolving from opportunistic theft into a highly strategic, cyber-enabled enterprise – and it’s costing the global supply chain billions. 

July 16, 2025

According to recent data, cargo theft surged by 63% in the UK in 2024, with over £111 million in stolen goods reported. The UK Road Haulage Association warns that freight crime now “casts a wide net,” affecting all aspects of the haulage sector, including oversized and specialised transport. 

What’s more alarming is that criminals are increasingly targeting not just the cargo – but also the specialised hardware used in transporting it. In France, the Union Française du Levage (UFL – the French Mobile Crane Association) issued an alert after seeing a rise in thefts of safe load monitoring equipment from mobile cranes, a critical safety component in heavy lifting operations. “Sometimes it’s not even the oversized items they’re after,” a UFL spokesperson noted, “but the high-value hardware attached to them.” 

Globally, the nature of cargo theft is shifting. One of the most significant developments is the rise of strategic theft, where criminals pose as legitimate carriers or brokers using forged documents, spoofed communications, and stolen identities. This form of fraud, which once accounted for just 3% of cargo thefts, now makes up a staggering 33% of incidents. 

“The growth in strategic crime, defined as utilising deception, fraud, and advanced planning, is the most remarkable finding in our report,” said Tony Pelli, Global Practice Director at BSI Consulting. The company’s latest analysis identifies three major global trends: a continued increase in hijackings in Latin America, a surge in rail theft in the United States, and the rapid expansion of strategic theft driven by cyber vulnerabilities. 

In the United States, cargo crime is estimated to cost the supply chain up to $35 billion annually, with cargo theft incidents expected to rise another 25% in 2025. A Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) survey noted a 33% year-over-year spike in theft in Q2 of 2024 and a staggering 600% surge between November 2022 and March 2023. 

Criminal groups are now deploying AI tools to forge documents, manipulate digital records, and impersonate carriers – dramatically increasing the reach and efficiency of their schemes. These tactics often result in fictitious pickups, double brokering, and seamless digital impersonation of trusted logistics partners. 

Smaller carriers are especially at risk, lacking the infrastructure to verify partner identities or detect fraudulent documentation. Many have been hit by fake carrier scams and malicious phishing attacks, leading to shipment delays, financial losses, and severe damage to reputation. 

As the problem escalates, there’s mounting pressure in the U.S. Senate to establish a federal cargo theft task force. The aim would be to coordinate enforcement efforts, strengthen cybersecurity standards in the transport sector, and provide support to vulnerable operators. 

From AI-driven cybercrime to targeted hardware theft in heavy transport, cargo crime in 2025 is more sophisticated, more digital, and more global than ever before. With no signs of slowing down, experts warn that without urgent investment in cybersecurity, cross-border cooperation, and transport security protocols, the cost to the global supply chain will only continue to rise. 

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