Digital freight marketplace operator Transfix Inc. announced Thursday it has launched Transfix Shield, which aims to help shippers, carriers and brokers root out identity fraud across the commercial transportation industry.
Transfix Shield includes RateCon Shield and Facility Shield, tools available to all freight brokerages and shippers. The tools are designed to help users protect their business, as well as those of their carrier partners, and consumers from the impact of freight fraud, according to Jonathan Salama, Transfix’s CEO and co-founder.
“Fraud affects everyone. It’s like a full circle that begins with the shippers, brokers, carriers that are moving the freight,” Salama told FreightWaves. “When fraud happens in the freight industry, it costs brokers, carriers and ultimately it costs regular consumers, because it gets passed on to consumers.”
The Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) contends that fraud in trucking is costing the industry as much as $800 million.
“There’s a surge of malicious actors engaging in illegal activity, registering with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as carriers and perpetrating fraud, theft and holding freight hostage in situations without any legal consequences,” said Jeffrey Tucker, testifying on behalf of the TIA at a hearing before the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in January.
New York-based Transfix is a digital freight marketplace connecting shippers and more than 30,000 carriers. The company was founded in 2013 by Salama and Chairman and President Drew McElroy.
RateCon Shield adds a layer of security to a brokerage’s operation and the carrier’s business to detect bad actors impersonating legitimate freight brokers.
Fraudsters often pose as legitimate brokers, assuming a broker’s identity, and offer loads to carriers, according to Salama.
“After the carrier accepts and delivers the load, they contact the unknowing legitimate broker for payment, but the fraudster has disappeared and the carrier goes unpaid,” Salama said. “These frauds can cripple a carrier’s business.”
RateCon Shield works by automating the addition of a QR code to rate confirmation documents, helping carriers validate the authenticity of loads and the brokers offering them.
Transfix launched a pilot run of RateCon Shield last summer, which was well received by customers, Salama said.
“Since we launched it, we haven’t had any fraud issues, or haven’t heard of any issues or problems from customers,” he said.
Dan O’Sullivan, CEO of logistics provider United States of Freight, said RateCon Shield will be a differentiator in the freight industry.
“It builds credibility with both our shipper and carrier partners,” O’Sullivan said. “Partnering with an organization that had real skin in the game was also important for us. Transfix not only developed RateCon Shield, but they use it on every load.”
Facility Shield, which is in beta testing and soon to be available to shippers, provides fraud prevention capabilities at the facility level. The tool is designed to help shippers protect their facilities and associated loads through proprietary validation systems and processes that give shippers a new layer of security to verify carriers before they enter a facility, helping to reduce theft.
RateCon Shield and Facility Shield can integrate via API connection, are designed for a flexible and fast onboarding experience, and do not require users, whether carriers or facility employees, to download any additional apps.
Salama said both RateCon Shield and Facility Shield will be volume subscription-based services available to anyone who wants to use them.
“Fraud is an issue that will never get solved unless we all come together as an industry,” he said.
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Trucker4Life
Too bad Transfix lacks the scale and size for anyone to care about this other then themselves
John Westra, Innovation Manager
QR Codes are great…. for Marketing, etc!
What our industry needs are Smart Contracts. Th Blockchain, and Crypto payments direct to Carriers, can provide security, chain-of-custody and direct payment for services rendered, eliminating fraud, and rewarding carriers with higher margins, without factoring!
Let’s eliminate predatory Brokers, Scammers and Factoring and reward Honor, Integrity, Hard Work, Innovation & Merit!
Ellah Fent Inthuhrum
Freight thieves love greedy brokers.
Shippers beware!
#shippers make sure your truck is getting payed WELL (it’s your right and responsibility protected UNDER FMCSA 49 cfr 371.3 👀) . Anything less than 85% gross going to the TRUCK, you should be concerned 🔥. Keep the good truckers in business and moving. Thieves will agree to moving freight for the lowest rate because they aren’t interested in the the rate, they want your freight! #fmcsa #brokertransparency MANDATORY 49 CFR 371.3. Once all the legit trucker Owner Operators are priced out of business #FreightTheft will rise! You get what you pay for!! Concerning Public Safety. If you under pay the effecient trucker Owner Operator, and not pay them WELL, you will have a lot of trucks on American roads that are not being maintained (ex. tires, brakes) properly to #fmcsa standards. Including components of the truck that keep the equipment running as clean as possible protecting, our #environment. Inconvenient #truth. No speed limiter can help with that #fact. So now that you are in the know, what are you going to do with this knowledge? #commercialinsurance #publicsafety #dot #highwaypatrol #statetrooper #petebuttigieg #freightbroker #greed #transportion #epa
what in the world
This is too funny, Tool? tool = simple common sense? LOL
3-21-24
Transfix is a freight broker and NOT a marketplace so if other brokers like United States of Fright use them then that’s double brokering!
Doesn’t this make Transfix part of the problem?