The spike in freight crime comes in lockstep with a ramp-up of more sophisticated, digitally-savvy tactics that revolve around identity theft and drain the economy of millions of dollars, as the higher cost of living drives demand for pilfered products. Trucks carrying cargo containers arrive at the Port of Vancouver Centerm container terminal, in Vancouver, on Friday, October 14, 2022.
Experts say more old-fashioned methods of theft such as cutting fences at freight yards and hot-wiring semis at truck stops remain popular. But even those acts are often informed by information gleaned from online load boards — sites that connect shippers and carriers — or phishing scams and other hacking methods.
"The marginal cost of hacking the system is so low because it's just somebody sitting in their basement somewhere just trying constantly," he said. Once obtained, the costly cargo is rarely seen by legitimate eyes again — until it hits the retail shelf, shorn of its illicit tail. Food and beverages, household products and metals now comprise Canada's most sought-after stolen goods, in that order, according to CargoNet.