Corporate Espionage Within Freight Brokerages

In recent months, the freight industry has been rocked by a wave of unprecedented scams. Just last week, we discussed a freight ransom ring in Illinois. Now, we have another alarming story to share: corporate espionage.

Unusual Start To The Week:

A freight brokerage company welcomed three new employees this week, but one quickly raised red flags. On his first day, he received the usual onboarding items: a key card, laptop, and company merchandise.

By midday, he requested to work from home, citing personal reasons. The next day, he returned his laptop and abruptly quit, claiming a family emergency.

Hours later, the company discovered this individual was still employed at a competitor's office nearby. When confronted, he denied having any company property and even claimed he never accepted the job.

The competitor's HR team reached out but didn't terminate his employment despite the clear evidence of deception, raising suspicions of corporate espionage.

Not so uncommon?

Craig Fuller chimed in with a similar story from 20 years ago. A highly qualified candidate applied for an entry-level position at Xpress Direct. After shadowing the team for a week, he vanished, only to reappear as the head of sales at a competing company. Shortly after, that competitor launched an on-demand division identical to US Xpress's.