Transfix has integrated E3 Group’s driver identity verification technology into its transportation management system (TMS) giving freight brokers another layer of protection against fraudulent pickups before a driver is assigned a pickup number.
As part of the new integration, Transfix’s TMS now directly integrates E3’s authentication features. “This allows brokers to verify a driver without switching to another platform while keeping the verification record tied to the shipment,” the companies said in an Oct. 6 announcement.
The system verifies driver credentials, truck info and other risk factors before a load is picked up. The verification results are provided in the shipment workflow, so brokers can integrate the check into their dispatch process.
This is being done because freight fraud continues to evolve with deceptive pickup schemes. Criminals are increasingly using fake identities, forged credentials and carrier impersonation to obtain legitimate shipments.
Overhaul reported 574 cargo thefts in the U.S. in the first quarter, with deceptive pickup schemes up 31% year over year. Highway saw a similar change in the nature of freight fraud in the second quarter. Communication-based attacks, such as compromised inboxes, spoofed emails, account takeovers and impersonation calls, made up 50% of classified fraud vectors, compared to 42.7% in the first quarter.
Identity checks during the dispatch process
Transfix’s E3 integration only goes as far as the assignment of a shipment to a driver.
E3 verifies the identity of the driver by comparing it to data such as the commercial driver’s license, truck and carrier records. Verification also includes device, location and contact information
E3 said its technology measures over 50 signals, including biometric information. Biometric matching and liveness detection are used to confirm that the person presenting the credentials is the driver associated with the load. The company said its system can also analyze more than 60 fraud signals per load.
The process begins with an E3 web-based verification form, not a dedicated mobile app. On the first page of the form, drivers consent to photo capture and temporary location capture.
E3 said personal information that can identify you will be deleted when it is no longer necessary for essential purposes, in accordance with applicable privacy laws.
If authentication fails, the pickup number will not be provided and an alert will be sent to the broker or compliance team. The brokerage then makes the final determination whether the shipment should proceed.
Transfix said the integration can prevent the pickup number from being issued until the driver’s identity is successfully authenticated.
“The check takes place at dispatch, not in a report that someone reads a week later,” said Jonathan Salama, co-founder and CEO of Transfix, in the announcement.
One of the first brokers to utilize the new capability is Direct Traffic Solutions. The company said it can access E3 via Transfix without needing to do a separate integration project or manage another vendor login.
Direct Traffic Solutions load level results were not reported by E3. But the company said it has authenticated drivers on over 650,000 loads across its broader customer base and is reviewing about 5,000 drivers each day. E3 also reported that none of its customers have reported any stolen loads so far.
Transfix is part of a larger trend of TMS integrations
This isn’t Transfix’s first effort to deliver third-party fraud and carrier verification capabilities directly into its platform through the E3 partnership.
Transfix integrated Highway’s carrier identity and compliance technology into its TMS in June. That integration allowed brokers to perform carrier verification and fraud checks directly within the platform.
In July, AscendTMS followed a similar path by incorporating SearchCarriers’ carrier intelligence into its native verification system. The move brought carrier and broker risk information to users in the TMS environment.
These integrations are part of a broader trend among transportation software providers to embed fraud prevention into the actual workflows where freight is dispatched, as opposed to doing external checks.
A wider response to cargo theft
Driver verification targets a particular vulnerability in the cargo theft chain: making sure the person who arrives to pick up a shipment is indeed the driver, and the truck is of the load.
This distinction has become more and more important as groups of thieves use legitimate carrier IDs and fraudulent communications to gain access to freight.
CargoNet has warned that theft-by-deception groups are likely to continue to target shipments tendered to legitimate carriers. Such schemes have the potential to circumvent compliance measures that have traditionally focused on the tendering process itself.
If driver authentication was built into the TMS, brokers could potentially have less manual verification to do before a shipment moves. And it also captures the verification in the same system that handles the load.
Why it’s important
Fraudsters are more and more impersonating legitimate drivers and carriers to conduct fraudulent pickups, so carrier verification alone may no longer be enough. Transfix embeds E3’s driver-level identity checks directly in its TMS to allow brokers to authenticate who is showing up for the shipment before pickup information is released.
The approach adds another control point at dispatch, making it harder for fraudulent drivers to obtain legitimate freight, while still keeping the verification process within the broker’s existing operational workflow.
