Common scams for independents
 

First of all I am no genuis I got this info from reading the GL message board every day
Bogus Company contacts posted truckers offering them a great rate
Trucker faxes all their info to bogus co.
Bogus co now has an identity to operate
....you.....
New bogus co alters identity and calls a broker for a load
All info is shared and all seems well.
New bogus company now contacts another posted trucker and gives him unbelievable rate. and a bonus if he fedexes bills
Trucker bites and sends info and picks up load.
Trucker calls bogus co that he is loaded and bogus co calls original broker for an advance
he may be happy with advance
or
may wait until he has the signed bol and submits for quick pay
trucker calls expired disposable cell phone
bogus looks for next victim

a variation is where the 2nd trucker is in on the deal and after bogus gets advance
the trucker calls shipper or broker and demands full payment or he will not deliver load (holding load hostage)

for those of you who think being a broker is the way to go
there are sharks looking for new broker licenses
Truck gets load from broker at 120 per mile
truck picks up load
Trucker calls broker and demands 3.00 per mile or he won't deliver load

COD
a zillion variations
You get check but you must mail it to broker
Broker claims he never got check
and where is it, send it to him so he can pay you

COD reciever claims it was prepaid
Has broker on phone to clear it up
"broker" is in the other room

COD reciever claims he knows nothing about COD and must wait for(secretery, president, owner....) to bring check in a couple hours
we can start unloading though.......
don't laugh there is a lot of pressure on you to make your next p/u to get home for weekend...

the further away from home you are the more problems with COD btw

They don't even need to be bogus companies. Several legit companies (at least as legit as the government requires them to be) are pulling these scams. There's a warning on ITS right now about a group that's been operating under several names in CA that agrees to haul a load, factors it, then posts it for a higher amount so someone else is sure to pick it up. By the time everyone involved figures out what's going on you've got a shipper, a receiver, a carrier, and sometimes a broker, who've all been screwed to some extent. Yet another reason to only do business with reputable companies.

We had a ,,broker'' who booked a load thru us and he told me that he was HUB Group, people who are very legit and people who i have done buisiness with alot without any problems. Next day we booked a load from another legit broker and he asked me where was the freight i picked up for him yestrday, i said, WHAT F*&^&* freight, i wasnt even there at that time and it turns out that we have been played by the same guy who later refused to pay the bill. That legit broker sent me MY confirmation with my F*&*&* name on it saying how i agreed to get this freight for certain amount of money, i mean i was looking at my confirmation, one that i make myself and didnt believe it untill things cleared up a bit....
I was able to get his home adress by looking up his fax number and me, together with two of the guys that were at our office in Ontario, CA, went to his house where he wrote us a check on the spot and apologized. We reported him by name and his home adress to OOIDA and Internet Trucksop.

I mean, you should see the confirmation this guy was putting up front, they were exact same conf. that i recieved from Hub Group, its was deffinetely expirience and things dont seem to stop amazing me in this buisiness day after day....

THis should be a sticky

I had a couple out of cheyenne try that with me, dumbass used his real name though.


I didnt get screwed though, googled his name and found his home, taped a note to his door asking if him and his wifes life was worth scamming me.

Re: Common scams for independants
 

That stunt right there is why I mentioned being wary of COD's. Has happened to me far more times than I can remember. And yes, my company has told me to wait many times, affecting the rest of the route.

Agreed. Good info for independents.

Some people are too stupid, thats why they scam. In this day and age of technology, they all eventually get caught.

I like Brians way of sorting tings out :shock: :lol:

The problem is (for anyone getting authority or deciding to be a broker) there plenty of rules set by the Feds but the only thing enforced is the safety aspect. When it comes to $$$$ issues you are on your own.
The ripped off trucker can try to get his $$ from the shipper or broker but he is at their mercy.
The ripped off broker just has to pay the advance and AND the hostage taker or he will lose his customer.
A dishonest broker can get any info he wants from a desperate trucker wanting a load.
He can look up your experience and how long you have had your truck posted
(there are produce trucks right now sitting for days in Cal because of all the crop damge)
The broker can fax you a stack of papers to sign change which include some official looking paperwork that requires your Social Security # and some other stuff and a copy of your driver license......blah, blah all in a days work..........
In haste and the need for a load the driver complies and just gave out his identity

I always check out a new broker before committing to haul a load for them. If I find a problem, I simply don't haul the load. If you want to protect yourself you should do your homework and check these people out before you take their load. You can check their broker authority, insurance and credit references. I don't send anything to a broker with whom I am not familiar unless I first check them out. It is just good business. You should never allow yourself to be so desperate that you throw caution to the wind and don't check someone new out.

Brians way might be cut n cleaver, but be carefull. If Couple had taken said note to police,Brian WOULD have had an arrest warrent issued even without attaching hs name, easy enough to see he would be suspect #1

Not in Wyoming..... :lol: :lol: :lol:

I was recently contacted via an email from a bank president using his personal Yahoo email account. From what I'm told I have a relative who I did not know from South Africa who was killed in a plane crash. I even got a pointer to the news story about the crash. I guess I'm the only living relative and he was worth millions. He owned a large trucking company, "Ubangme Trucking".

The president of this bank says he can transfer these funds less a 10% fee for himself to me if I supply account numbers and pin passwords.

Me thinks this is a scam so watch out!

Steve, I'm pretty sure you KNOW its a scam :) Tell him where he can mail the check to, minus 10%. Hell, tell him 20% is fair :) and that you look forward to certified funds arriving soon. :lol: 8)

Ok Steve, I gtta better deal for ya, send me 1% and I'll make sure he sends you the whole amount... :lol: :lol: :lol:

K...I think I got the jest of this, but could you guys explain this a little better (step by step ok?), for someone thats VERY new to getting his authority, I am planning to get my own authority (after I buy a truck) and would really like to avoid this.

although there is good info here there are only a handful of people here with their own authority
The treasure trove of info is the archives of the Getloaded.com Message board.
that is my advice to you.

People who have their own authority here are very succesfull individuals who have been in the game for some time and know all the tricks and treats this industry has, for the most part that is.

You cannot just get your own authority and expect to make it in these times right now and it doesnt mean you will make it at all, expecially not having O/O expirience.

People need to stop dreaming about all the money they can make on their own because i've seen them come and go, either out of buisiness or to those 90cpm carriers which basicaly is the same thing :!:

When you either find a load or have someone call you about the load, they will send you a packet. This should have a contract, broker information, copy of their broker bond, credit references, broker authority. They will ask you to send them a signed copy of the contract back to them along with a copy of your motor carrier authority and signed 1099. They will probably want you to have your insurance company to fax them a certificate of insurance naming them as additional insured. Once they have all of this information in hand, they will send you a confirmation order which you must then sign and fax back to them. The confirmation will have the rate and terms along with the shipper and receiver information. Some may only list the shipper information. Once you receive the brokers information, it is up to you to check them out. You can check to see if their broker authority is valid and their broker bond is current and whether any one has filed on it. You should also check their credit references. Once you do that, it is up to you to decide whether you will haul the load or not. If you are concerned about whether you will get paid, you can always haul only for the larger brokers whom you know will pay you.

GMAN, I think you mean a signed W-9.

Do many transportation businesses, be it truck or broker, use Dunns and Bradstreet numbers?

Yep, you are right RostyC. The 1099 is what is sent at the end of the year. Sorry about that. :oops:


I think most companies that have been around for a while have a Duns number, but I don't see many potential customers or brokers using it. When someone checks your D&B they are usually interested in checking your credit rating or company profile. Since you are not asking for credit from anyone, there is no need for most to check. All these people are really interested in knowing is whether you are insured, have motor carrier authority and your safety rating. Some won't even check your safety rating. I don't recall when any broker or shipper has asked for my D&B number.

yeah but you could use it to check a broker out no?

RostyC, you can check a broker through Duns, but I don't think you will find whether he has been paying carriers unless they have reported him or gotten a judgment against him. The best way to check a broker out is to make sure his bond is current and no one has filed on it previously. You will also want to check his credit references.

[quoteI was recently contacted via an email from a bank president using his personal Yahoo email account. From what I'm told I have a relative who I did not know from South Africa who was killed in a plane crash. I even got a] pointer to the news story about the crash. I guess I'm the only living relative and he was worth millions. He owned a large trucking company, "Ubangme Trucking".

The president of this bank says he can transfer these funds less a 10% fee for himself to me if I supply account numbers and pin passwords.

Me thinks this is a scam so watch out![/quote]
Ahhhh, the old Nigera scam again. Man it never goes away.

I do what Gman said......but you still never know. The paradox is the more the load pays the more potential there is to get unpaid. I have been lucky and have not been scammed yet. Altough I do have this little $150 TONU issue to get cleared up.

I had a late payer a couple of weeks ago. I happened to be pulling another one of their loads when I called them to mention they were a week over due. They were willing to courier a check that day when they found that I was in possession of another of their loads. I didnt make any threats......simply, "Y'know, I have another load on my trailer right now...........is there any way you can courier payment today"

I've been an o/o with operating authority for 2 years, always used the same three brokers from the start, never had a problem until now, one of them owes me 8 grand and is acting very hinky.

I used to think I knew how to check current status of a broker's bond and whether anyone had filed on it at the fmcsa website, but now can't find it.

Can anyone tell me where to check status of broker bond and file if necessary? Thanks.

You can check status of the bond at www.safersys.org but I don't know how to determine (without paying for a service) if anyone has filed on it. I called a bond company last week to ask this very question and they told me they cannot disclose that info.

If your on the internet truckstop you can see if there is a credit alert out on them. I have the optional credit thing on my account. You can list the broker here or PM there name and I'll look them up if you like.

From what I've seen it seems like when a broker goes south they go out with a bang and amass a ton of outstanding invoices. Most seem to go under with outstanding invoices in excess of $40,000 dollars which I'm sure they pocket as like severance pay.

If you have been dealing with a broker for a while and their pay patterns or frequency changes, it should send up a red flag. I have one right now that has lagged behind about a week. They were into me for over $2,000. I told them that I wasn't going to take any more of their loads until I received payment. I got a check a couple of days ago for $1,100. I don't think this broker is in financial trouble, but they may be attempting to get me to pay them an extra fee for paying early. They charge 2 1/2% to pay in 2 weeks. There regular payment schedule is 35 days. I told them that if I were going to pay that much money for early payment that I would factor the load for 5% and have my money in a day or so. I don't know how much business I will continue to do with this broker. They are primarily a logistics company. Some of their rates are rather cheap, anyway. The way I handle someone such as this is to raise the price for which I will haul to compensate for having to factor the load. As a carrier, you can exercise much more control than you realize. Remember, most brokers don't have their own trucks. They MUST have trucks to move the products or they cannot make money. I will make some compromises, but will NOT haul for less than a certain amount of money. Rather than putting something on the truck which doesn't pay my minimum, I will deadhead out.

05/11/2007 I.T.S. Security Department is requesting information on these companies


All State Trucklines of Glendale Ca MC# 460879

Emmanuel Transportation Inc of Los Angeles Ca MC# 424175 DOT# 100833

Greenlight Truck Lines Inc of Tujunga Ca MC# 517289 DOT# 1368596

Sun N Soil Inc dba Concise Brokerage of Glendale Ca MC# 471299

Sun N Soil Inc dba East West Logistics of Glendale Ca MC# 472148 DOT# 1182592

Guardian Transportation Inc of Tujunga Ca MC# 540256 DOT# 1429465

Agape Solutions LLC of Tujunga Ca MC# 569920 DOT# 1528740

Masaa Transportation Services Inc of Glendale Ca MC# 575719 DOT# 1549646

MDM Logistics Inc dba Trans Nation of Tunjunga Ca MC#572491 DOT# 1538433

Fine Food Corp dba Millennium Brokerage of Burbank Ca MC# 529992

Skynet Trucking Inc of Los Angeles Ca MC#496669 DOT# 1600306

Fatemeh Zandvakily dba Lanstar of Tujunga Ca MC# 588049

Century Best Transportation Inc of Los Angeles Ca MC#595986 DOT# 1611845

Delux Trucks Inc of Van Nuys Ca MC# 553975 DOT# 1465961

Delux Trucks Inc dba Dependable Brokerage of Van Nuys Ca MC# 555287


Please send information to us at [email protected] or via fax# 208-278-5571 attn: Security

We picked up a load one time from a broker, it was a load of pipe and he never paid. Was back in the same area and called him up and got another load from him at the same place. Went to the truckstop and sit and called him, reminded him on never paying me for over 90 days and he said he would have a check in the mail, I said no that is what you have said all along, I want my money today or I will sit on this load until I get it. He valued his customer pretty good, by 5pm I had my money and the next morning I took the load back to the customer and said unload it, they were pissed and I told the shipping manager that he was using a dead beat broker that won't pay and if the use a guy like that they will have a hard time getting trucks. The broker calls me and is mad and then starts playing mister nice guy to get me to take the load. I just tell the shipper to get the load off and they did.

I always use Riveria Finance. My full recourse contract lower's my factor fee and forces me to allow them to approve the broker's credit before the load can be hauled. I have made the mistake of taking a load they turned down to avoid being stuck and ended up stuck for my money.

Always have a broker checked out first. Even some of the big companies brokerage divisions arent worth the hauling for.

[quote="rank"][quote="DLC"]I've been an o/o with operating authority for 2 years, always used the same three brokers from the start, never had a problem until now, one of them owes me 8 grand and is acting very hinky.

I once had a guy that liked to owe me money to keep my hooked on doing business with him. He continued to reduce my profitability, till I found it cheaper to walk away from him and what he owed me, than to continue to do business with him.

jonboy

Brilliant!

jonboy

Is'nt this why all the most popular load boards have scores and ratings for these companies now??

If so, then what's the problem?

Yep got to agree... Finger prints, hand writting, paper from ur truck. If the guy wanted to off his wife, then would have been the time.

I like it! :twisted: Yep "after check my records I found that your account is on hold for delinquent payment. Sure am sorry but our policy says we hold the load until payment for the back invoice and this load are paid for". IN CASH :twisted: I owned my business for 16 years and had to pull a lot of this type of collection methods. I hate ppl that pull sht. Attorneys are the worst.

wow
 

This sounds pretty brutal, thanks for posting this.