Trustd Launches Know Your Carrier Solution to Combat Rising Freight Fraud Across Europe
The transport and logistics industry is facing an unprecedented surge in cargo crime, with freight fraud emerging as one of the most costly and disruptive threats to supply chains across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). As criminal networks become increasingly sophisticated and digital communication channels create new opportunities for deception, logistics providers, shippers, and third-party logistics companies (3PLs) are searching for effective ways to verify the legitimacy of carriers before freight is assigned.
Addressing this growing challenge, Trustd, a digital identity and credentials verification platform designed specifically for the transport and logistics sector, has introduced Know Your Carrier (KYC), a web-based verification solution that enables businesses to instantly assess the risk profile of carriers quoting for transportation work. The new tool is designed to provide rapid carrier verification, helping organizations identify potential fraud risks within seconds and reducing exposure to cargo theft and payment diversion schemes.
The launch comes at a critical time for the logistics industry, as freight fraud and cargo crime continue to rise across international supply chains. Trustd’s latest offering aims to fill a long-standing gap in the market by providing an accessible and scalable verification layer that can be integrated into existing workflows without requiring complex installations or software integrations.
Cargo Crime Continues to Escalate Across EMEA
Recent industry data highlights the scale of the problem facing transport operators throughout the EMEA region. Cargo crime has increased dramatically over the past three years, with reported incidents rising by 438%. During the last two years alone, more than 108,000 supply chain thefts were recorded across the region, illustrating the growing vulnerability of freight networks.
The financial consequences are equally alarming. Among the reported incidents that resulted in documented financial losses, the combined value exceeded €1 billion. This translates to approximately €1.3 million in losses every single day, underscoring the severe economic impact that cargo theft and freight fraud continue to have on businesses operating within complex supply chains.
Industry experts note that the actual cost of freight crime is likely much higher than reported figures suggest. Many incidents go unreported due to concerns about reputational damage, insurance complications, or difficulties in accurately quantifying losses. Beyond the direct value of stolen goods, organizations frequently incur additional costs associated with shipment delays, operational disruption, customer dissatisfaction, legal disputes, and increased insurance premiums.
As freight networks become increasingly interconnected and cross-border transportation volumes continue to grow, the challenge of identifying legitimate carriers has become more complicated than ever before.
A New Approach to Carrier Verification
Trustd’s Know Your Carrier platform was developed specifically to address this challenge. Leveraging the company’s expertise in digital identity verification, the solution provides a fast and practical way for logistics professionals to verify carriers before entering into business transactions.
Unlike traditional compliance systems that often require extensive onboarding processes or software integration projects, Know Your Carrier is entirely web-based. Users can access the platform through a browser and begin verifying carriers immediately, making it suitable for organizations of all sizes.
The verification process is designed to be straightforward. Users simply enter a carrier’s email address and, when available, a Value Added Tax (VAT) number. Once the information is submitted, the platform conducts a series of automated checks across multiple data sources and intelligence networks.
These checks evaluate several critical indicators, including:
- Email legitimacy and authenticity
- Domain matching and verification
- Business registration records
- Adverse media screening
- Sanctions list monitoring
- Court judgment searches
- Proprietary Trustd network intelligence
After analyzing the available data, the system generates a risk assessment within seconds, providing users with a quick and actionable signal regarding the legitimacy of the carrier.
This streamlined process enables shippers and logistics providers to make informed decisions before awarding freight contracts, reducing the likelihood of engaging with fraudulent operators.
The Growing Threat of Carrier Impersonation
One of the primary issues driving demand for enhanced verification tools is the rapid growth of carrier impersonation fraud.
Carrier impersonation occurs when criminals create fake transportation businesses or impersonate legitimate carriers in order to gain access to freight shipments or redirect payments. In many cases, fraudsters establish convincing digital identities, complete with professional websites, email addresses, and business documentation that can be difficult to distinguish from genuine operators.
Once trust is established, the fraudulent carrier may collect cargo and disappear with the shipment or manipulate payment arrangements to divert funds intended for legitimate service providers.
The problem has become increasingly widespread as most initial communication between logistics companies and carriers now takes place through digital channels, particularly email. While freight transactions often involve substantial financial value and critical cargo, the industry has historically lacked a standardized verification layer capable of validating carrier identities in real time.
This gap has created opportunities for organized criminal groups to exploit weaknesses in carrier onboarding and freight procurement processes.
Trustd believes its Know Your Carrier solution addresses this vulnerability by introducing a practical verification mechanism that can be applied before freight assignments are confirmed.
Building on Decades of Freight Industry Experience
According to Lyall Cresswell, CEO and Founder of both TEG and Trustd, the new platform reflects decades of experience operating within the freight-matching and logistics technology sector.
“Supply chains know what is moving and when. But they don’t always know who. That blind spot is costing the industry billions,” said Cresswell.
His observation highlights a fundamental challenge within modern logistics operations. While businesses have invested heavily in technologies that provide visibility into cargo locations, shipment status, and inventory flows, carrier identity verification has often remained fragmented and inconsistent.
Trustd’s approach seeks to complement existing transportation management systems by focusing specifically on validating the organizations and individuals involved in freight movements.
Cresswell explained that the company’s experience operating freight-matching infrastructure through TEG over the past 26 years played a crucial role in the development of the new verification suite.
“We built Trustd on 26 years of running freight-matching infrastructure through TEG. Our verification suite is already operational in the UK. Know Your Carrier is the first of those tools built specifically for the European market,” he said.
This industry background provides Trustd with unique insight into the challenges faced by freight brokers, carriers, and logistics providers, enabling the company to develop solutions tailored to real-world operational requirements.
Expanding Across Key European Freight Markets
Trustd is initially launching Know Your Carrier in Poland and Romania, two of Europe’s most significant cross-border freight markets.
Both countries play a critical role in the movement of goods across the continent, serving as major transportation hubs connecting Western Europe with Central and Eastern European markets. The high volume of freight activity in these regions creates substantial opportunities for both legitimate business growth and criminal exploitation.
By focusing its initial rollout on these markets, Trustd aims to accelerate adoption and establish a strong network of verified carriers.
According to Cresswell, network density is a crucial element of the platform’s long-term effectiveness.
“We’re starting in Poland and Romania, the two largest cross-border freight markets in Europe, because that’s where we build network density fastest. The more carriers that are verified through the platform, the stronger the intelligence becomes for everyone using it. That network effect is what makes this different.”
This network-driven model allows the platform’s intelligence capabilities to improve as more participants join the ecosystem. Each verified carrier contributes additional data points that can help strengthen future risk assessments and enhance fraud detection capabilities across the broader logistics community.
Creating a Safer Digital Freight Ecosystem
The launch of Know Your Carrier reflects a broader shift within the transportation industry toward greater digital trust and identity management.
As supply chains continue to digitize, the ability to verify counterparties quickly and reliably is becoming increasingly important. Shippers and logistics providers are under pressure to protect assets, reduce fraud exposure, and maintain operational continuity while managing increasingly complex transportation networks.
Digital identity verification tools are emerging as a critical component of modern risk management strategies, providing organizations with greater confidence when engaging with new partners and service providers.
For many companies, traditional verification methods involving manual checks, phone calls, document reviews, and regulatory searches can be time-consuming and inconsistent. Trustd’s automated approach offers a faster alternative while still drawing on multiple sources of intelligence to support decision-making.
Industry observers believe solutions like Know Your Carrier could play an important role in strengthening supply chain resilience as fraud tactics continue to evolve.
As cargo crime continues to place significant financial pressure on businesses throughout Europe and beyond, the demand for effective verification technologies is expected to increase. Organizations are recognizing that visibility into freight movements alone is no longer sufficient; understanding who is moving the freight has become equally important.
Trustd’s Know Your Carrier platform seeks to address this need by providing instant carrier verification capabilities that fit seamlessly into existing logistics workflows. By combining digital identity verification, business intelligence, sanctions screening, and proprietary network insights, the company aims to help reduce fraud risk and improve trust across the transportation ecosystem.
With its initial expansion focused on Poland and Romania and plans to grow its network of verified carriers, Trustd is positioning itself at the forefront of efforts to create a more secure and transparent freight industry. As adoption expands and network intelligence strengthens, the company believes its platform can contribute to reducing cargo theft, preventing fraudulent transactions, and helping supply chains operate with greater confidence in an increasingly digital world.
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