Carrier fraud has grown into one of the most expensive problems in brokerage: stolen loads, double brokering and identity theft all start with a carrier that looked fine at a glance. Most of it can be caught in a few minutes, using public records, if you check the right things in the right order.
1. Confirm the USDOT number is active
Look the carrier up on FMCSA's SAFER Company Snapshot. Check that the operating status is active and that the entity type matches what you expect (a carrier, not only a broker). An inactive or out-of-service USDOT number is a hard stop.
Don't stop at "active": FMCSA can issue an out-of-service order (for an unsatisfactory safety rating, a failed or refused new-entrant audit, unpaid fines and more) while the census still lists the carrier as active. As of 2026-11-09, 14,415 carriers listed as active had an out-of-service order in effect.
2. Check operating authority
For-hire interstate carriers need active operating authority (an MC number). In FMCSA's Licensing & Insurance system, confirm the authority is active, not pending or revoked, and look at its history. A pending revocation usually means insurance or process-agent filings have lapsed.
3. Verify insurance directly
Make sure liability insurance (BIPD) is on file with FMCSA, then request a certificate of insurance from the insurance agent, not from the carrier. Fraudsters edit PDFs. Watch for policies with an upcoming cancellation date.
4. Look at authority age
New authorities are not automatically bad, since every carrier starts somewhere, but many fraud schemes use authorities only weeks old. As of 2026-11-09, 10,575 active USDOT numbers were less than 30 days old. Apply extra checks to new carriers: references, equipment photos, tracking.
5. Call the number on file, not the number in the email
The single most effective anti-fraud habit: call the phone number listed in FMCSA's records and confirm the person you are dealing with really works for that carrier. Impersonators give you their own number and use look-alike email domains (for example an extra letter, or a free webmail address instead of the carrier's domain).
6. Check for recent contact changes
When a fraudster takes over a real carrier's identity, they often update the carrier's FMCSA registration with their own phone and email first. SAFER only shows the current values, so you can't see that the phone changed last week. CarrierTell saves the FMCSA census every day and flags carriers whose phone, email, address or officers changed in the last 14 or 30 days.
7. Look for shared phones and emails
When several unrelated carriers list the same phone number or email address, it can point to chameleon carriers or a fraud ring. It can also be an innocent filing service, so treat it as a reason to dig deeper, not proof. As of 2026-11-09, 51,938 of 2,245,548 active carriers shared a phone number with at least one other active carrier. More on shared phone numbers.
8. Check the MCS-150 date
Carriers must update their MCS-150 registration at least every two years. A stale filing is a minor signal on its own, but together with other flags it suggests a carrier that is not actively maintaining its registration.
9. Match the details at pickup
Confirm the truck, the driver's name and the carrier name on the cab match the carrier you booked. A different company name on the door is a classic double-brokering sign.
Add CarrierTell to Chrome, free
Quick checklist
- USDOT active, correct entity type, no out-of-service order
- Operating authority active, no pending revocation
- BIPD insurance on file; COI received from the agent
- Authority age considered; extra checks for new carriers
- Phone verified against FMCSA records
- No recent contact-info changes, or changes explained
- Phone and email not shared with unrelated carriers
- MCS-150 updated within two years
- Truck and driver match at pickup