Fraudulent returns: scammers started sending dry ice instead of expensive goods
Boxes with dry ice that evaporates, soap and stones instead of smartphones, staged insurance events and fictitious shipments - scams in logistics have become more diverse, market participants reported. At the end of 2024, they reported more than half a billion losses, most of which were attributable to proven fraudulent delivery of goods. Fraudsters face up to five years in prison for such actions, lawyers said. On how attackers deceive logistics companies - in the material "Izvestia".
How to cheat with delivery
The range of methods of fraudsters who cheat logistics companies has significantly expanded over the year, enriched with new techniques, market participants told "Izvestia". Moreover, in 2024 every third case of fraud in cargo insurance was related to staging events, analysts of the digital platform of insurance support of cargo transportation Zunami told.
Among the popular examples of fraud on the part of customers, logisticians highlighted the substitution of goods - instead of expensive smartphones, the client gives pieces of soap or stones for delivery. At the same time they are packed in boxes from original goods.
- It happened that the client sent the goods several times with the same damage, which could not be detected during inspection," said a representative of one of the logistics companies.
Among the most original techniques logisticians named the "dry ice method". Thus, a client, under the guise of expensive goods, delivered boxes with dry ice inside. The weight of the parcel was substantial, so the delivery company was not suspicious. But during transportation the ice evaporated and the boxes arrived at the destination point empty. The customer then demanded compensation for the theft of goods.
The top also includes overestimation of the value of damaged cargo, falsification of documents, unreasonable increase in the amount of insurance indemnity, shortages and high loss ratio.
All in all, last year the total amount of losses claimed by logisticians reached 548.8 million rubles, of which 60% are confirmed fraudulent claims, and the rest are under additional review, analysts said.
Cargo owners may underestimate the value of cargo to reduce the insurance premium, or overestimate it to get more money in the event of a loss, confirmed the general director of the federal transportation company "Skif-Cargo" Sergei Chernov.
- The organization periodically encounters incorrect data in insurance applications," he said. - Staging of insurance events is also widespread: contractors are able to imitate theft, cargo damage or even loss of quality in order to receive an insurance payment.
Sergei Masovets, General Director of Logistic Auto, told Izvestia that one of their clients provided incorrect data on the value of the cargo - a tractor. During the delivery there was an accident, it was damaged, and the incorrect value led to difficulties with the insurance company.
- The sales contract specified the amount of Br3 thousand, while the actual value of the tractor was Br1.5 million," he explained. - In this regard, the reimbursement process took longer, and the cargo owner had to order an independent appraisal to confirm the price.
What schemes are applied to insurance companies
Problems with insurance claims are relevant for companies working with individuals, especially when transporting personal and second-hand things, added Sergei Masovets. In such cases, it is almost impossible to insure the cargo, and some customers knowingly take advantage of this for their own benefit.
Fraud schemes in cargo insurance are improving every year, said Dmitry Khrushchalev, Deputy General Director for Development of Delovye Linii Group of Companies.
- We often encounter attempts of unscrupulous clients to receive unjustified insurance payments, - he emphasized. - One of the ways out in this situation is the use of blockchain technologies and anti-fraud systems based on them. The system allows to effectively identify possible risks, minimize fraud and prevent losses.
According to Sergey Masovets, in some cases such problems arise not because of the client's intention to cheat or save money, but because of ignorance of the exact value of the cargo.
Fraud in transportation in relation to insurance companies is, as a rule , staging of the event: arson, theft of cargo during transportation or fictitious transportation that exists only in documents, falsification of the size, said the expert of the insurance company "Soglasiye".
- In 2024, a single case of fraud was recorded - tractors were stolen, but thanks to organized interaction with the police, the cargo was found and returned to the client, " he told Izvestia. - Then the fraudsters acted according to the "redirection" scheme.
It means that the swindler pretends to be both a forwarding agent of the company and a driver. He sets up a front legal entity, which will play the role of a transportation company. Then, with the help of freight and car search exchanges, he finds a driver and cargo that match each other. The fraudster contacts the freight forwarder and the driver. All the necessary documents are drawn up. An attractive offer is made to the driver - payment in cash at unloading. The fraudster substitutes the driver's phone number with his own when handing over the delivery notes to the freight forwarder.
After that, the driver loads the goods, but all communication is conducted through the fraudster. For the customer and the freight forwarder, in turn, the criminal plays the role of the driver over the phone. After some time, he asks the driver to unload the goods in another place, not according to the bill of lading.
- He explains, for example, that the warehouses are loaded and cannot accept the cargo," the expert added. - For the customer and freight forwarder, the fraudster continues to answer as a driver, as if he is traveling on the route. When the delay in arrival becomes apparent, he may say that he has broken down and is waiting for repairs. At this time, the real driver is unloading at the specified place. And the perpetrator is already starting to sell the stolen cargo. For a short time he keeps in touch with the customer and the forwarder to buy time to sell the cargo, and then disconnects the phone.
In case of detection of fraudulent schemes, as indicated in "Soglasiye", the company always applies to the police with a statement.
Daria Turkina, head of the department of insurance of transportation risks at AlfaStrakhovanie, told Izvestia that the company does not observe a significant increase in insurance frauds.
What threatens fraudsters
However, the deliberate substitution of goods during delivery can also be qualified as fraud, reminded "Izvestia" vice-president of the Association of lawyers for registration, liquidation, bankruptcy and legal representation Vladimir Kuznetsov. The perpetrator of such machinations may face a penalty of imprisonment for up to five years.
- But it can be difficult to prove deliberate substitution, because the fraudster could transfer to the transportation company the goods not agreed with the client, indicating in the documents the one that is actually transferred, so that the carrier has no claims, - said the lawyer. - Let's say, the client could order a phone with delivery, and the sender could give the carrier soap, indicating in the documents it is it, because the carrier may not know anything about the arrangements of the sender and the recipient.
Thus, the carrier will not be liable, because he delivered exactly what the sender gave him. At the same time, as the expert pointed out, the carrier is obliged to check the goods only for compliance with the accompanying documents and the absence of visible defects.
- In some cases, the substitution may be unintentional," he said. - For example, the buyer received something of the wrong color or model, and in this case the dispute will have a civil law nature with the application of the rules on the replacement of goods.
According to Sergey Chernov, a transparent system of cargo tracking, including the use of video cameras and sensors, helps prevent fraud, allowing to establish exactly what happened to the cargo and exclude the possibility of falsification. But even such a system cannot completely offset the risk of fraud, the experts summarized.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
