Fraud and
deception is a
fast-growing
problem, too
Thorsten Neumann, CEO, TAPA
THE TOP TEN
Ten countries accounted for 94.6% of the cargo crimes reported
in EMEA in 2019. These were Germany, France, the UK, Holland,
Sweden, Spain, Russia, Italy, Belgium and South Africa.
jammers: thieves use these to
block tracking signals once
they take control of a truck.
Otherwise a thief can pose as
an innocent member of the
public; they often pull
alongside trucks to tell the
driver there is a fault with their
vehicle, which then results in
the driver pulling over to
investigate and subsequently
being intercepted by a group of
thieves.
Fraud and deception is a
fast-growing problem, too: this
involves bogus transport
companies, drivers with fake
ID or falsifi ed documentation.
Often entire loads are driven
away and disappear because of
a lack of due diligence before
they are despatched.
Sometimes, after a load has
been collected (particularly in
countries like Russia where
journey times can be extremely
long) drivers will notify
companies that their vehicle is
trust in the resilience of the
supplier’s transport operation.
In a worst case scenario, the
loss of a single truckload of
goods might be the catalyst for
a change of supplier and the
removal of a contract which is
vital to a transport operator’s
fi nancial sustainability.
We are helping our
members’ supply chain
resilience by giving them
intelligence relating to cargo
thefts so they know when,
where and how cargo criminals
are operating and the types of
goods that they are targeting.
The TAPA IIS database helps
them to also see crime trends
on specifi c transport routes to
determine the level of risk.
We are also providing an
online securing parking tool
that enables companies to
determine safe parking
locations along the routes they
are operating and we are
developing our new Parking
Security Requirements to
increase the number of secure
truck parking places in EMEA.
We currently have well over
5,000 parking places in our
database, spread around ten
countries. TAPA advocates
proven supply chain security
standards for facilities and
trucking operations, together
with training to implement its
Security Standards. It also
offers cargo crime alerts,
podcasts, webinars, a monthly
e-magazine and conferences,
so that cargo movers can learn
more about the latest cargo
crime trends and the best
security solutions.
Finally, TAPA is also
working closely with
government ministries and law
enforcement agencies in
support of all of these
initiatives.
faulty while they are en route.
This effectively buys them
time; and while the vehicle is
supposedly being repaired,
they then disappear with the
cargo.
On other occasions,
legitimate drivers delivering a
load will be contacted en route
by a person claiming to be
from the buyer, seller or
transporter of the goods. The
driver will then be told that
the delivery address has been
changed. Again, once the
delivery is completed, the
goods cannot be traced.
Online freight exchanges
have also been used by
criminals to gain access to
cargo loads. Sometimes,
criminals using a bogus
company identity will make a
low bid for a load in order to
secure the booking - and will
then outsource it to a
legitimate transport company
to collect the goods.
Once they have done so,
the offenders redirect the
goods to wherever they want
them to go. Similarly, offenders
have been known to offer low
cost capacity on empty
vehicles which are often
travelling to or from remote
areas like the Russian Far East
on a ‘fi shing’ exercise to see if
they can attract a load.
Unfortunately, they frequently
do succeed.
In both France and Italy
roadblocks are often used to
stop trucks. Criminals also
know that some loaded trucks
are left parked up over the
weekend and will often trawl
known parking sites to target
vehicles.
Some drivers have even
been the victims of gas attacks
while sleeping in their cabs.
The gas incapacitates them
long enough for thieves to
steal the cargo from their
vehicle.
However, arising out of the
popularity of e-commerce
perhaps, one of the biggest
growth trends currently is the
rise in the number of attacks
on Last Mile deliveries. These
often occur while vehicles are
moving slowly in heavy traffi c
or in other busy, heavily
populated areas.
TAPA’s action plans
The fi rst thing to point out
is that most of the crimes
recorded in our IIS database do
not involve TAPA members.
Our members’ supply chains
are highly resilient, thanks
to their own in-house supply
chain security programmes and
the benefi ts they gain from our
Association.
TAPA members are the fi rst
to recognise that, often, it is
not the value of the stolen
goods that leads to broken
customer/supplier
relationships, it is the loss of
ABOUT TAPA
The Transported Asset Protection
Association (TAPA) is a leading
Security Expert Network for everyone
in the supply chain. With a global
membership of major manufacturers,
logistics service providers, law
enforcement agencies, insurers and
other stakeholders, the Association’s
aim is to help its members minimise
their supply chain losses and to
deliver industry standards, incident
intelligence, training and networking
opportunities to help companies
increase the resilience of their supply
chains, manage risk and optimise their
loss prevention programmes. TAPA
also represents its members before
government ministries as well as other
organisations, including the European
Commission, the United Nations, NATO,
INTERPOL and Europol.
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