Fake carrier: the checks to make before handing over your pallets

A truck arrives for your pallets. The driver knows the collection reference, but the registration differs from the booking and a new contact asks you to load immediately. Those details call for confirmation before handover. Neither a familiar company name nor a convincing email tells the warehouse who is authorised to collect this particular shipment.

On 6 October 2026, Union TLF published freight diversion prevention guidance. For businesses shipping pallet loads, whether part loads or full truckloads, the practical question is clear: who can release the goods, on which information, and who confirms an unexpected change?

Identify the booking partner and the actual carrier

Before the collection day, record the legal name, registration details and working contact of the business you booked. Cross-check those details through an official register and an independently located company contact. Compare the transport documents and, where relevant to the operation, the licence and insurance information. An administrative record or insurance certificate is one check; it does not authenticate an email sender or authorise a vehicle to collect your goods.

Also identify the business performing the pickup. A broker or forwarder may arrange a legitimate subcontracted carrier. A different name on the truck therefore requires reconciliation with the booking, rather than an immediate accusation. Ask the contractual partner to confirm the actual carrier and the person handling changes. Our guide to choosing a cross-border freight partner covers the wider selection process.

Confirm through a contact you found independently

If anything changes, call a number already validated in your supplier records or established separately through a reliable company source. The number in the new email signature, an attached PDF or a forwarded message is not an independent confirmation channel. For a first booking, establish this contact before the truck arrives.

Ask the contact to confirm the collection reference, actual carrier, expected driver, vehicle registrations and agreed delivery site. Record who confirmed the information and when. Obtain an updated written instruction through the agreed channel, then make that version available to the loading team.

Read the full sender address, including the domain after the @ sign. The TLF and partners' October leaflet highlights lookalike domains and suspicious off-platform exchanges. If a freight platform is involved, use its established directory and messaging tools to resolve discrepancies. Do not follow an unexpected login link to perform the check.

Give the warehouse a usable release checklist

A purchasing check does not help if the gate team has an outdated booking. Send one current collection instruction, with a named approver and a reachable backup. Before releasing the pallets, check:

• Shipment: collection reference, pallet count and booked loading slot match the order being released.
• Carrier: the collecting business matches the confirmed arrangement, including any approved subcontractor.
• Driver: the person presenting for collection matches the information confirmed for this job, using the site's identity-check procedure.
• Vehicle: the tractor or truck and trailer registrations, where applicable, match the latest approved instruction.
• Destination: the delivery site and any planned intermediate handling match the transport order.
• Release: the authorised employee records the handover decision and any agreed security measures, such as a seal.

A collection reference is useful for matching a load, but it is not a substitute for these checks. Keep personal information proportionate: checking a driver's identity does not require routinely circulating copies of identity documents by email.

Treat an unexpected change as a new approval

A replacement driver, vehicle breakdown or revised collection time can be genuine. Pause release of the affected load until the responsible contact confirms the change. Check the changed information against the rest of the order; a corrected registration does not validate a new destination that appeared in the same message.

Illustrative case: a message arrives ten minutes before loading with a new trailer number and instructions to deliver to a nearby warehouse. Call the previously verified contact, confirm both changes separately and send the approved instruction to the dock. If that contact cannot confirm them, keep the pallets on site.

Urgency, an unexplained early arrival, inconsistent documents or interrupted communication should trigger this same process. They are warning signs to investigate, not proof that the driver is involved in fraud.

Make stopping and escalating straightforward

The loading team needs permission to stop the operation without negotiating with the driver. Define the escalation route before dispatch: warehouse supervisor, transport buyer or planner, then the contractual partner. Give the backup contact authority to make a decision when the usual approver is absent.

Where a discrepancy remains unresolved, do not release the goods on the strength of a new verbal assurance. If freight has already left and diversion is suspected, alert the responsible managers, the confirmed transport partner and the platform where relevant. Contact the insurer and the appropriate authorities promptly, following your incident procedure. Preserve the exchanges and dispatch records so they can establish the sequence of events.

Keep the decision trace with the shipment file

Retain the approved instruction, relevant changes, confirmation times and handover record in the shipment file. Limit access to the people handling the operation or incident. A short record of who approved what is more useful than a folder of unverified attachments.

This checkpoint concerns who receives your pallets. For the journey after collection, our guide to secure truck parking and overnight stops addresses a separate risk.

When requesting a pallet transport quote from Remo&Co, provide the route, dates, pallet count, packed dimensions and weight, access constraints and loading contact. Mention any release procedure or approval requirement at the outset so it can be discussed when arranging the shipment.

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