Shipping vehicles can be a seamless part of your business operations when done securely. As your partner, we want to make sure you have the best practices to help you move inventory efficiently and safely throughout the process. Here’s how to protect your business from listing to delivery.

Protect Your Account Access

For Central Dispatch clients, Your credentials are critical to your business. Avoid sharing login information with others, even within your organization. If you are a Central Dispatch client, use the User Management feature to assign individual logins to employees or third-party partners. This allows you to control access levels and track activity more effectively.

With reinforced multi-factor authentication (MFA), every Central Dispatch account has an extra layer of protection from unauthorized access. Your mobile phone number is the preferred verification method, and the most secure.

Vet Your Carrier Carefully

Before dispatching a vehicle, take time to verify the carrier’s credentials. This step can prevent fraud and ensure your vehicle is in good hands.

Confirm the carrier’s FMCSA details, including their USDOT # and MC# (if applicable). Review their insurance documents and consider contacting the provider and asking to be listed as a certificate holder. You can also check transactional ratings and reviews from other shippers to assess their reliability.

Secure Communications During Transit

Dispatching and communicating through private phone calls, emails, and texts exposes you to fraud. If you are a Central Dispatch client, it’s best to keep as much communication as possible within the platform.

So, be sure to always dispatch vehicles using the fully electronic dispatch system. Assigning vehicles to carriers allows you to easily see carrier data on the dispatch page in order to review key details before assigning to a carrier and greatly reduces the risk of falling victim to fake texts and phone calls. Additionally, you may encourage your carrier partner to assign each load to a specific driver. This lets you verify the driver’s identity at pickup and gives you better visibility into your shipments.

You can also request your carriers to use the Central Dispatch carrier mobile app and enable real-time tracking. This allows for maximum visibility and transparency into shipment location and status.

In the Event of Fraud

If you do fall victim to fraud on the Central Dispatch platform, it’s critical to immediately contact the authorities and file a police report in the jurisdiction of the incident. Provide any information you can to local law enforcement, and also report the incident to the USDOT’s Inspector General, file a complaint with the FMCSA National Consumer Complaint Database, or contact the Federal Trade Commission.

We also encourage you to report the incident to Central Dispatch’s dedicated Marketplace Integrity Team. These are dedicated transportation experts who are here to take feedback from our customers and address security issues.

Steps Being Taken To Help You Ship Safely

Central Dispatch is making significant strides in addressing this challenge in the transportation industry and meaningfully reducing the level of fraud on their platform.

They are constantly evolving their vetting process alongside the changing market landscape to ensure only legitimate companies gain access to their marketplace, and shippers can more confidently find partners.

The newly formed Marketplace Integrity Team is dedicated to combating fraud and helping you stay secure. This team collaborates directly with Cox Security and other enterprise teams to investigate issues, deactivate fraudulent accounts, and proactively protect our customers.

Central Dispatch is partnering with other industry leaders to lobby Congress, advocating for stronger protections against automotive fraud and encouraging action and accountability from the FMCSA.

We all play a part in building a safer, more secure marketplace for shipping vehicles. Let’s keep working together to protect our industry from fraud and ensure Central Dispatch remains a trusted platform for everyone. For more detailed information, please visit https://www.centraldispatch.com/resources/how-to-stay-safe-at-every-step-of-the-shipping-process