Circle Logistics and Carrier Assure Reveal Opportunities to Market Fraud Prevention

At a recent freight fraud conference, Andrew Smith, SVP of Circle logistics listened intently as a shipper recounted the story of an unnamed freight brokerage’s uncommon vigilance in pursuing the thieves who had stolen the shipper's freight. Smith realized almost immediately, “Hey that was us!”

Circle Logistics had the benefit of this unexpected endorsement as a result of their companywide commitment to combatting freight fraud and theft—and their bold decision to publicize their successes.

Circle Logistics’ initiative included technology investment, all-staff training and messaging to spread awareness and education among shippers at large as well as potential prospects.

Smith joined with technology partner and Founder/CEO of Carrier Assure, Cassandra Gaines, at TMSA ELEVATE 2025. Together they described the details of Circle’s leading-edge freight fraud prevention program and shared the journey that’s led to Circle’s reputation as a leading fraud fighter.

Freight fraud is a viral issue

Freight fraud and theft has always been around, but the problem has grown significantly in recent years as the variety of schemes, incidence of crimes and value of stolen freight have skyrocketed.

Not enough is being done

48% of freight brokers named freight fraud as the biggest issue in the industry in 2024, Freightways says.

Despite the scale of the problem, many shippers still aren’t fully aware of the dangers. “Shippers for the most part aren’t as educated as they should be on the fraud front,” Smith says.

Shippers face serious risks from the growing threat of freight fraud that include:

• Financial loss not covered by insurance
• Damaged reputation and relationships with buyers whose orders went unfulfilled
• Lost sales, production delays and a host of possible downstream disruptions

The industry has to take the lead

Freight fraud and theft is too big a problem for law enforcement to tackle alone. The key issues according to Gaines whose company is a leading a provider of advanced carrier screening technology are:

• Shippers need to be hyper aware in choosing transportation partners.
• Transportation partners need to get better at screening carriers
• Freight brokers need better ways of proving they’re good at protecting shippers stuff

A grass-roots effort is required to prevent fraud and protect shippers. Freight brokers have to take the lead by adopting best practices in vetting carriers and spotting red flags.

Importantly, brokers also have to spread the word by sharing their experience with other brokers as well as shippers “There’s a unique position to be the subject matter expert on fraud and train shippers on these situations,” Smith explains,

He adds that a key aspect of Circle Logistics’ recent success can be attributed to emphasizing fraud prevention in their sales and marketing efforts.  

Going all-in on fraud prevention

A deep understanding of shippers’ pain points related to fraud guided Circle Logistics’ commitment and companywide approach.

"I was spending 50% of my day in 2022 and 2023 fighting fraud. It was a big brain drain and a huge opportunity cost,” Smith says.

It was at this point that Smith says, his company decided to formalize its commitment. Training and awareness introduced fraud prevention to the company culture. That message spread outside the company to strengthen vendor relationships.

How to fight fraud like Circle Logistics

• Establish a centralized fraud reporting structure and plan
• Build a tech stack that encompasses carrier scoring, onboarding, compliance checks, email and phone screening, and real-time alerts
• Integrate market predictive analytics and risk assessments
• Gain organizational buy-in, especially from potential detractors
• Encourage organizational compliance through easy-to-use systems
• Streamline verification at the point of sale—beware of shady shippers, too
• Train and empower employees organization wide so they’re looking for fraud
• Balance technology with human oversight for best results

Share what you know to help others

Along the way to going all-in on fraud prevention, the company realized the tactics and takeaways were meant to be shared. 

As programs coalesced and results were received, sales and marketing began leveraging Circle’s fraud mitigation message to win new accounts.

A major thrust of Circle Logistics’ fraud prevention campaign is showcasing their actions for education and awareness purposes.

The company highlighted their unique carrier vetting processes, risk mitigation partnerships, and real-time tracking through a variety of means. Promoting their collaboration with industry-leading technology providers, Carrier Assure, Tive and others, has amplified their fraud prevention message to a wider audience.

Circle Logistics’ practices provide the sales and marketing playbook for other freight brokers and transportation providers looking to promote their unique expertise in fraud prevention. According to Smith and Gaines, “People buy on pain, and fraud is painful.” Fraud prevention sells with the right strategies.

Drive new business through fraud prevention

1. Clearly position your company as experts in mitigating freight fraud
2. Promote your unique carrier vetting processes
3. Offer value-added services like risk assessments and compliance counseling
4. Demonstrate thought leadership through white papers, social media, and webinars
5. Publish case studies and leverage success stories in sales
6. Use data and account-based marketing to target shippers researching fraud prevention
7. Highlight insurance, risk mitigation and technology partners

It takes an industry to combat the growing threat of freight fraud

Education and awareness are the keys to staying informed about the evolving tactics thieves use to steal freight as well as the methods for mitigating risks.

Learn more about Circle Logistics at circledelivers.com and Carrier Assure at carrierassure.com