Freight Brokers: Your First 90 Seconds Are Expensive. Make Them Count.

According to Verisk CargoNet, cargo theft reached 3,625 reported incidents in 2024, a 27% spike over 2023, with the average value per theft jumping to $202,364. 

And it’s not slowing down. In June 2025, the GearTrack Cargo Security Index reported a continued spike in thefts targeting food, electronics, and household goods, with fraud schemes growing more sophisticated and data-driven.

Criminals are impersonating legitimate carriers and rerouting entire truckloads, often within hours of pickup at major freight hubs like Savannah, Dallas, and Chicago.

In recent months, investigative reports, from Danielle Chaffin’s FMCSA data dives to GenLogs’ breakdown of AI-assisted fraud tactics, have shown just how fast scammers are evolving.

Writing for FreightCaviar Chaffin's, "Eye-Opening Patterns in FMCSA Data," exposed how carriers with fake names, duplicate addresses, and thousands of violations still slip through the system.

Pick up the phone, and you spend the first 90 seconds asking:

• “Who are you?”
• “Did we already talk?”
• “What load are you calling about again?”

By the time you figure it out, you’ve wasted time, or worse, you’ve handed intel to a bad actor.

That’s why more brokerages are rethinking their inbound call process and turning to tools like WireBee, which filters out fraud before you even say hello.

But don’t take it from us. Take it from Fox Logistics, a company handling high-risk freight with zero tolerance for scams.

DIY Screening and Diminishing Returns

Back in 2023, Fox Logistics, which serves enterprise shippers, decided to build its own call screening tool using Twilio.

And they didn’t hold back.

• V1 screened callers against Highway.
• V2 checked if the load was still available.
• V3 added an IVR quoting system where carriers entered quotes to get through.

It worked… sort of.

• 🚫 Missed calls? Solved.
• 🚫 Abandoned calls? Reduced.
• ✅ Good carrier experience? Not so much.

“Carriers didn’t like the manual quote entry. They couldn’t ask questions about pickup times. Quote volume dropped, and we lost capacity opportunities.” — Matt Lawrence, CEO, Fox Logistics

Eventually, they rolled back to V2. But then another problem emerged:

“We didn’t have real-time info about the caller, the load, or whether they’d already spoken with someone.”

Why WireBee Was the Right Fit

That’s when Fox tried WireBee.

What stood out?

• Real-time caller data
• Clean UI
• Spoofed number detection built into the platform
• Easy onboarding for the team

“The setup process was incredibly easy. The team adopted it quickly. WireBee was easy to work with and the terms were easy to accept.”

WireBee didn’t try to replace their process. It made their calls smarter.

The Results: Time Saved, Fraud Blocked, Visibility Gained

Fox Logistics already had robust fraud protocols in place: they’d built their own screening system, integrated with Highway, and refined their internal vetting process over time. But even with all of that, WireBee added a new level of speed, visibility, and control.

The impact was immediate and measurable.

• 20% of inbound calls blocked for failing Highway assessments automatically, no manual filtering required.
• Improved follow-ups using call history to quickly re-engage carriers who didn’t book right away.
• Suspicious patterns got flagged early, like callers using one phone number with multiple DOTs or MCs.
• Real-time visibility into what reps were doing, who they were talking to, and which shipments were getting the most attention.

“The ability to detect call spoofing helps us weed out fraudulent carriers at an earlier stage, saving us time and keeping our customers' freight safe.” — Matt Lawrence

Fox didn’t adopt WireBee out of desperation; they adopted it because their protocols were good, but WireBee made them exceptional. 

WireBee’s ability to detect spoofed numbers and flag carriers using mismatched DOTs helps brokers stop these fraud schemes at the earliest point of contact: the phone call. As GearTrack notes, theft is no longer opportunistic. It’s organized, digital, and constantly evolving.

That stat speaks louder than any marketing copy.

Don’t Pick Up Blind

Every freight team has tracking and verification tools. But when it comes to inbound carrier calls? Most brokers are still flying blind.

WireBee changes that.

Because every phone call is either a waste of time… or a threat. And your first 90 seconds? That’s when it’s too late.

Want to stop wasting time on bad calls and start talking only to pre-vetted, verified carriers? 👉 See how WireBee can help.