Double Brokering Fraud Cost the Industry $455M+ in 2024

Double brokering occurs when a freight broker accepts a load from a shipper, then illegally re-brokers it to another carrier or broker without the shipper's knowledge, pocketing the margin. In 2024, freight fraud losses surpassed $455 million, with double brokering estimated to affect $500M-$700M in freight annually. For owner-operators, this is devastating: 28% of scammed owners reported documented losses of $10,000 or more, and 18% of affected businesses lost $50,000-$150,000. The scam works because the actual carrier who hauls the load often does not get paid — the double broker disappears with the shipper's payment. Fraudulent email attempts in the brokerage space increased 117% year-over-year, and double brokering activity surged 400% in some regions. For the first time in 2025, broker fraud became the number one concern for owner-operators. The structural root cause is that obtaining a freight broker license requires only a $75,000 surety bond and minimal vetting — there is no ongoing audit, no cargo tracking requirement, and no real-time verification system to confirm that the carrier on a load is the carrier the shipper contracted with.