Where control is lost in modern cargo theft

In Episode 3 of the Fraud Watch podcast, I sat down with Ryan Kiefer, Lead Specialty Investigator with the Special Investigations Group at Travelers, to walk through what actually happens when freight goes missing. His team gets involved once a problem surfaces, which means the focus is no longer prevention. It is about figuring out what happened, where control changed, and whether there is still a path to recovery.

One of the clearest takeaways from the conversation is how much the problem has shifted. Traditional theft still exists, especially when loads are left unattended, but that is no longer the only risk. More of what the industry is dealing with today is happening inside normal operations. Freight is not always being taken by force. In many cases, it is being redirected through manipulated information and broken communication without anyone realizing it in the moment.

where control is lost

That shift changes how risk needs to be understood. These situations do not always start with something obvious. The process can look normal, and the information can appear to check out. The issue is not always a lack of data. It is the assumption that the data is correct. By the time something feels off, the load may already be moving in the wrong direction or sitting somewhere it should not be. One of the most common breakdowns happens at pickup, when the carrier that shows up is not the one originally booked, even though everything appears to line up on the surface.

Timing still plays a major role, but not in the way many expect. In straight theft scenarios, speed matters because the freight is physically moving and being offloaded. In strategic theft, the challenge is recognizing the problem early enough to act. Delays often come from missed signals, gaps in communication, or assumptions that everything is progressing as expected. The bigger issue is not always response time. It is recognizing that something is wrong in the first place.