Fake drivers, real losses
A new wave of fraud is sweeping across Germany
July 3, 2026 – 7:15 amReading time: 2 min.
One-click scam: Criminals use fake websites to disguise themselves as logistics companies and make entire trucks disappear. (Source: IMAGO/Rüdiger Wölk)
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Criminals are making entire trucks disappear. Fraud threatens entire supply chains.
Using a fake identity, criminals take over real transport orders and disappear with the goods. Damage now amounts to millions. This case became especially sensational Theft of 400,000 candy bars in March hit the headlines. Fully loaded truck Italy the product must be in Poland deliver. But he never got there. But fraud is not limited to individual products. Robot vacuums and six-figure stick vacuums have also disappeared recently.
New scam: 12 tons of KitKat bars went missing in March. (Source: IMAGO/Zoonar.com/Êrik Lattwein/imago)
Damage in a new dimension
The numbers speak for themselves: The industry estimates that in the first seven months of 2025, 88 trucks disappeared due to so-called ghost carriers—the same number as in the entire previous year. By July, the damage from this scam alone amounted to 18 million euros.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg: according to statistics, almost 26,000 trucks disappear every year, which corresponds to one load every 20 minutes. This includes all cargo thefts, not just cases involving phantom carriers. Direct damage to goods amounts to 1.3 billion euros plus 900 million euros in subsequent costs.
How scammers get goods
Why do companies give their goods to thieves? The answer lies in the online freight marketplaces through which tens of thousands of transportation orders are placed every day—a marketplace that works like eBay listings, but for logistics.
This is where ghost freight carriers strike: they specifically bid for lucrative orders and masquerade under the name of a well-known shipping company. “This is a classic case of identity theft,” says Alexander Gsell, a lawyer at subsidiary R+V Kravag. The effort required by criminals is minimal and the effect is devastating.
Danger for the entire industry
Lukas Petrasz, managing director of logistics company Cargoboard, based in North Rhine-Westphalia, warns that thieves threaten not only individual companies, but also entire supply chains.
Cargoboard managing director Lukas Petras: “Many companies have no idea how professional these gangs are now.” (Source: Cargoboard)
Petrash emphasizes that the professionalism of criminals is often underestimated. “This is no longer a classic gang of thieves.” Criminals are highly skilled and specifically use digital IDs for their scams. The consequences can be serious: companies lose not only valuable goods, but also trust in their partners and processes. And not only that.
Because the problem is not limited to logistics warehouses. Rising insurance premiums could impact the entire industry and ultimately consumers.