Cargo Theft Prevention Checklist

Walk the perimeter against a TAPA FSR-style checklist: fence height and condition, lighting lux at gate and drop yards, blind spots, dumpster placement against fence, gate-arm operation. Note any items where a thief with bolt cutters and 90 seconds could be inside the yard.

Verify badge readers reject deactivated cards, gate cameras capture plate and driver face at the read line, and DVR retention covers at least 30 days. Confirm after-hours alarm path to the monitoring center with a live test call.

Walk the fence line in daylight and again after dark. Flag any sections cut, leaning, or pulled at the base; any burned-out yard lights; any pallet stacks or trailers placed near the fence that create a climb-over assist.

Reconcile every trailer and container on the lot against the TMS yard list. Loaded trailers without a dispatch assignment or with mismatched seal numbers are the leading indicator of an in-progress fictitious-pickup scheme.

Use ISO 17712 'H' classified bolt seals on all loaded trailers; barrel-lock or king-pin lock additionally on high-value loads (electronics, pharma, tobacco, food and beverage). Log seal numbers in the TMS at the time of loading, not at the gate.

Place a covert tracker (e.g., LoJack SCI, SkyBitz, Spireon) inside the load — separate from the tractor ELD and trailer telematics, which thieves disable first. Confirm last-known-position ping and geofence alerts before the truck leaves the gate.

Check kingpin lock, air-line glad hands, fifth-wheel release, and rear doors. Pried hinges, fresh tool marks at the door frame, or a swapped seal are pre-theft indicators. Cross-check the VIN and plate against the rate confirmation when a power unit is staged.

Pull MVR, Clearinghouse limited query, and PSP report at hire and annually. Drivers assigned to target-rich loads (electronics, pharma) should have at least 24 months tenure or pass an enhanced background screen.

For brokered loads, pull the FMCSA snapshot, check MC age (under 6 months is a fictitious-pickup red flag), confirm the phone and email match the SAFER record, and run the MC through CargoNet's SecureBase or Highway. Reject carriers with recently updated contact info or address mismatches.

Route the carrier packet, rate con, and SecureBase findings to the safety director before tendering. Document the override decision if the load is released anyway — fictitious-pickup losses recover faster when the broker can show a written second-set-of-eyes review.

Cover the 200-mile rule: no stops within 200 miles of origin on a high-value load. Review fuel-only-at-secured-truckstop policy, no-detour rule, and what to do if approached at a fuel island (do not engage; pull forward; call dispatch).

Tag the BOL commodity against the CargoNet target list: electronics, pharma, tobacco, alcohol, copper, and food/beverage trend highest. Tier-1 loads trigger team drivers, covert tracking, and no-stop dispatch windows.

Avoid the I-10 / I-95 / I-40 corridor truck stops flagged in the latest CargoNet quarterly report, especially around Atlanta, Dallas, Memphis, Ontario CA, and South Florida. Stage fuel and rest at secured TA / Pilot locations with on-site security.

For Tier 1 loads, dispatch two drivers so the trailer is never unattended. Pre-fuel the tractor so the first stop is past the 200-mile red zone. Provide secured parking address for the first legal HOS break.

Send the rate con and BOL only through the verified carrier email of record from the FMCSA packet — not a free email address tied to a recently registered domain. Strip the commodity description down to NMFC class on documents handed to the driver.

Configure Motive, Samsara, or SkyBitz alerts for: unauthorized stop within 200 miles of origin, door-open events between stops, and deviation from the planned lane by more than 5 miles. Route alerts to the on-duty dispatcher's phone, not just an email inbox.

Voice call (not text) at first fuel, mid-trip, and arrival. Confirm driver name, location, and seal number against the dispatch record. A driver who hesitates on the seal number or routes the call to an unknown number is a hijack indicator.

The driver should park inside a fenced, lit, camera-covered yard or at a CTPAT-recognized secured truckstop. Unmarked rest areas and shopping-center lots are the most common theft locations on Tier 1 loads.

Driver and receiver inspect the bolt seal together before breaking. Photograph the seal number at the trailer doors. A mismatched or re-applied seal is a chain-of-custody break and must be noted on the POD before unloading.

Count against the BOL line-by-line. Note any shortage, damage, or substitution on the POD with the receiver's signature — required to preserve a Carmack Amendment claim. Photos of pallet labels and overall trailer interior support any later cargo claim.

Limit TMS visibility of high-value loads to dispatcher-on-duty and the safety director. Do not post Tier 1 loads on public load boards (DAT, Truckstop) with the actual commodity in the comments; use NMFC class only.

Trigger this when a check call is missed, a covert tracker pings off-route, a seal is found broken, or a piece count is short. Treat any unexplained 30-minute gap on a Tier 1 load as a theft until proven otherwise.

File CargoNet within 2 hours — first 24 hours drive recovery rate. Call the local agency where the theft occurred (not the carrier's home jurisdiction) and request a case number. Notify the FBI field office if the load crosses state lines or exceeds $5,000.

Open the claim with the cargo carrier (Great West, Northland, Sentry, etc.) and send the shipper a written incident notice. The Carmack claim window is 9 months from delivery date or expected delivery — clock starts immediately, even before the load is recovered.

Safety director walks through the vetting record, dispatch decisions, and tracker timeline with operations. Identify the single control that, if applied, would have stopped the loss — update the SOP and brief drivers and dispatchers at the next safety meeting.