AI Deepfakes Fueling Digitally Enabled Crime Wave in the Freight Industry

Cargo theft across North America is rapidly evolving from traditional trailer break-ins to sophisticated digital fraud schemes that use artificial intelligence, social engineering and marketplace reselling to move stolen goods faster than ever before, say experts.

“Criminals have realized they can commit theft without ever touching the freight,” said Danny Ramon, director of intelligence and response at supply chain risk firm Overhaul. “They’re lowering their physical risk and scaling operations digitally, sometimes pulling off multiple thefts a day.”

Ramon said organized cargo networks are increasingly adopting AI-generated voices and synthetic identities to bypass verification calls or create fake carrier profiles. 

“AI, just like it is in the business world, is a force multiplier in the criminal world as well,” Ramon said. “Unfortunately, it’s adding efficiency, it’s sometimes the appearance of legitimacy, especially to social engineering and phishing attacks. AI now is making these things messages … not only grammatically perfect, if need be, but maybe just imperfect enough to sound like a person.”

Read more in an article from FreightWaves.