Highway's Q3 2025 Freight Fraud Index Shows Direct Thefts Now Leading Threat to Texas Logistics Industry

Highway's Q3 2025 Freight Fraud Index reveals a dramatic shift in fraud tactics affecting the Texas logistics industry, with direct thefts now surpassing compromised emails and ownership-change abuse as the leading fraud vector targeting freight brokers and carrier networks. The report indicates that rogue carriers are driving a significant share of losses, even as total theft volumes trend slightly downward from the previous quarter, presenting new challenges for Texas businesses operating in the state's vital supply chain sector.

According to the data, Highway blocked 605,728 fraudulent email attempts and identified 62,531 fraudulent phone numbers during the third quarter. Brokers reported 2,992 identity alerts, and Highway recorded 149 unauthorized Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration contact changes, demonstrating persistent manipulation of carrier records that could impact Texas-based transportation companies. Through the first three quarters of 2025, Highway has blocked 1,453,129 fraudulent email attempts, already exceeding the total of 914,719 for the full year 2024, indicating escalating threats to the state's economic infrastructure.

Michael Grace, VP of Customer Risk Management at Highway, emphasized that while bad actors are evolving, effective defenses remain rooted in fundamentals. Teams that consistently verify identities, confirm rate confirmations through secure channels, and maintain disciplined verification practices experience dramatically fewer incidents, a critical consideration for Texas businesses protecting their supply chains.

The data points to email takeovers and phishing as primary entry points for identity misuse. Fraud rings often blend into legitimate email threads to intercept rate confirmations, impersonate dispatchers, and redirect payments. Phone-based impersonation is also rising, with spoofed or Voice over Internet Protocol numbers increasingly used to solicit load details or submit fraudulent contact changes that enable account takeover, creating additional vulnerabilities for Texas logistics operations.

Fraud operations continue to originate globally, with the top countries associated with Q3 attempts being India, Serbia, and Pakistan. Domestically, California, Texas, and Florida saw the highest concentration of activity, with growing pressure in Indianapolis-area distribution hubs. Industry data from FreightWaves supports these findings, reporting that in Q2, U.S cargo theft rose 33% year over year to 525 incidents, with pilferage accounting for a majority of cases, highlighting the broader industry context affecting Texas businesses.

As the holiday season approaches, Highway has flagged higher risk for specific commodities including meat and seafood, frozen foods, consumer electronics, and alcoholic or specialty beverages, particularly on multi-stop routes and at high-volume consolidation points. The company recommends verifying carrier identity and contact changes with trusted sources, requiring multi-factor authentication on all email accounts, and delivering rate confirmations only through secure channels. More information about the Freight Fraud Index and Highway's Carrier Identity solutions is available at https://highway.com/.