Fraud is a growing concern in the freight industry, where sophisticated schemes—from classic cargo theft to stealing identities and double-brokering—can quickly transform what should be a routine shipment into a costly disaster. To combat these threats, Descartes MyCarrierPortal™ provides a robust set of tools. Anchored by leading carrier vetting and fraud monitoring technology, and its broad network of users that share experiences with bad actors, the solution helps protect others in the network through robust Incident Reporting. This blog explores how the solution enhances freight security, focuses on how its Incident Reporting capability benefits the industry, and explains why joining Descartes MyCarrierPortal’s industry-leading network is more crucial than ever.
1. Understanding the Threat of Freight Fraud
Freight fraud costs the industry millions of dollars each year. Beyond financial damage, it erodes trust among shippers, brokers, and carriers. Fraud can take many forms:
Carrier Identity Theft: Fraudsters clone legitimate carrier credentials, leaving shippers liable for missing freight.
False Documentation: Fraudsters forge or alter documents to misrepresent equipment or insurance coverage.
Double Brokering: A brokered load is illegally passed off to another carrier, often leaving shippers in the dark about who has possession of their freight.
As supply chains grow more interconnected, these threats evolve. Criminals exploit fragmented data, inconsistent checks, and the pressure to move loads quickly. In many cases, brokers or shippers discover the issue too late—when a load fails to arrive on time or when payment disputes arise. This environment underscores the value for a large, transparent network that centralizes fraud alerts and streamlines carrier vetting.
2. Enter Descartes MyCarrierPortal
Descartes MyCarrierPortal addresses freight security with a cohesive, community-driven approach. By unifying a large base of shippers and brokers, the platform creates a shared repository of carrier documentation, validation checks on company records at regulatory and government agencies, compliance records, risk scoring, and, just as important, Incident Reports submitted by the user community. Through its intuitive user interface and integrations with dozens of transportation management systems (TMS’), shipping platforms, workflow automation, and visibility solutions, Descartes MyCarrierPortal seamlessly syncs key information into a single, user-friendly platform that quickly highlights a carrier’s risk profile from many different sources.
Core Features
Real-Time Verification: Descartes MyCarrierPortal connects to multiple data sources to verify carrier qualifications and insurance coverage. Plus, with over 350,000 carriers already having Certificates of Insurance on file in the platform, users can typically vet a carrier in a matter of a couple minutes.
Incident Reporting & Historical Data: Users can log issues such as fraudulent behavior or chronic service failures, creating an industry-wide memory of carrier performance. With almost 4,500 Incident Reports created in the past 12 months, this is the largest database of real-world feedback on carriers.
Automated Alerts: If a carrier falls out of the risk tolerance or insurance requirements configured by the user, the platform alerts users immediately.
Network Collaboration: Every new user adds value, as the collective insights grow, patterns of fraud become more apparent. Protecting all shippers and brokers from fraud and theft.
The result is a system where questionable carriers have fewer places to hide. Instead of relying on disparate tools or word-of-mouth warnings, shippers and brokers can quickly see which carriers have been reported and why, then add that information to the other vetting and risk scores available in the platform.
3. Spotlight on Incident Reporting
While Descartes MyCarrierPortal offers a range of functions to vet, on-board, and monitor carriers, the Incident Reporting feature (launched in February 2024) is a critical aspect of its fraud-fighting capability and risk-scoring logic. It enables users to share detailed, first-hand experiences of a carrier’s misconduct or suspicious behavior which can be incorporated into custom risk ratings.
Users can also see how many others have ‘blocked’ carriers, meaning they will not on-board that carrier. Having a high block count is a good indicator of a potential bad actor.
It's important to note that Incident Reports can be submitted anonymously (to avoid potential retaliation), or submitted publicly, where the reporting company is known. In either case, the details of the incident report are visible, and the carrier will be alerted when an Incident Report has been submitted regarding them, and the carrier can respond to the report. In some cases, the report may be retracted or edited if there was a misunderstanding that was resolved between the parties.
3.1 Transparency and Accountability
In the past, brokers and shippers might share troubling carrier experiences with a few peers or keep them in personal spreadsheets. Descartes MyCarrierPortal’s Incident Reporting transforms that process. When a user submits a report, it becomes part of an accessible knowledge base, encouraging carriers to adhere to professional standards. This transparency makes it difficult for dishonest players to repeatedly exploit different corners of the market.
3.2 Breaking the Cycle of Losses
Fraud can thrive when bad experiences go unreported. As users and the wider market have embraced being more open about sharing theft and fraud incidents, it will enable other Descartes MyCarrierPortal users to avoid falling into the same trap. This collective vigilance makes the Descartes logistics ecosystem more protected from theft and fraud.
4. Scale Matters: The Power of Descartes MyCarrierPortal’s Large Network
An anti-fraud tool is made more effective with a large community behind it. One of the platform’s greatest strengths is its extensive network of users. Founded in 2012, with thousands of active subscribing companies, MyCarrierPortal built the largest carrier vetting platform to combat fraud. Since Incident Reporting was launched in February 2024, over the past 12 months (Feb 2024 through Jan 2025) over 50% of subscribing companies submitted a total of 4,468 incident reports—which is about 3 times the number of reports from another leading fraud reporting platform and direct evidence of a committed community actively sharing data.
4.1 Strength in Numbers
The more participants in the platform, the higher the odds of stopping fraudulent carriers. If a suspicious carrier tries to do business with a new broker or shipper, there’s a good chance it has already been flagged by someone in the network or will be flagged by Descartes MyCarrierPortal’s risk analysis for having phone numbers or an address associated with multiple companies. This real-time sharing of warnings saves countless loads from being compromised.
4.2 Joining Forces with Established Systems
The platform’s integrations with leading technologies ensure that new members can effortlessly integrate carrier vetting into their day-to-day routines. Brokers using Descartes Aljex™ (or another TMS), Descartes MacroPoint™ Capacity Sourcing, and even AI-assisted email and phone services can sync data, confirm insurance and equipment details, and check for incident reports in a single workflow. This connectivity streamlines operations and extends fraud protection to every corner of the carrier on-boarding and dispatch process.
Descartes Aljex is a leading broker-focused TMS, supporting everything from order entry, carrier management, rating, communications, billing, to analytics. Integrating with Descartes MyCarrierPortal allows users to see if a carrier meets their insurance and risk profile or has been reported for fraud or unethical conduct without switching platforms.
Descartes MacroPoint is known for industry-leading visibility, capacity sourcing, and fraud prevention capabilities. Once a carrier is vetted through Descartes MyCarrierPortal and a load is tendered, the fraud protection does not end there.
Descartes MacroPoint FraudGuard provides on-going fraud alerting through AI-enabled location tracking processes with alerts if suspicious activity or location spoofing is detected.
Descartes MacroPoint Capacity Sourcing accelerates the process for covering loads by providing insights into over 350,000 carriers and the lanes they work. Capacity Sourcing is now pulling in risk ratings to make it easier to find trusted carriers.
In an upcoming release of Descartes MyCarrierPortal, joint customers will be able to see details on a carrier’s tracking history via Descartes MacroPoint. Data points such as carrier connection method, historical volumes and lanes the carrier has worked to add a layer of protection in the vetting process.
Workflow Automation: The Descartes solutions also integrate to third-party optimization solutions that have AI-assisted phone and email workflows. These solutions incorporate Descartes MyCarrierPortal risk ratings and incident reports. Some of the recent partners include WireBee, Drumkit, and FleetWorks.
These integrations eliminate data silos and manual processes. Instead of researching carriers in one system, answering emails in another, and tendering loads in another system, users can seamlessly share and access critical information across platforms—saving time and reducing errors.
5. How Descartes MyCarrierPortal Benefits Users
5.1 Reduced Financial Risk
The most immediate benefit is preventing outright financial losses. With fast and thorough vetting of carriers, shippers and brokers can avoid stolen loads, payment disputes, and legal woes. A single averted fraud incident can pay for the subscription cost many times over.
5.2 Time Savings
Verifying carriers doesn’t have to be labor intensive. With Descartes MyCarrierPortal, a shipper or broker can simply look up a company’s custom risk rating, tuned to their specific requirements and immediately see if the carrier should be on-boarded, needs a deeper level of review, or should be excluded. This efficiency lets dispatchers, carrier reps, and agents handle more loads without compromising on risk.
5.3 Better Customer Satisfaction and Long-Term Growth
A company with even a few incidents of fraud risks losing clients and damaging relationships. By consistently working with reliable carriers, Descartes users maintain higher on-time rates, and more visibility compliance to boost customer satisfaction and solidifies trust. Over time, building a reputation of good service can become a competitive advantage, attracting customers who value transparency in their supply chain partnerships.
6. Why Now Is the Time to Join Descartes MyCarrierPortal
The pace of freight is faster than ever. Shifting consumer demands, bad weather, and labor disruptions often require fast coverage for loads and less time for manual checks. Meanwhile, fraudsters are evolving, adopting sophisticated tactics that blend digital forgery with traditional scams.
In this environment, relying on outdated methods—like trusting word-of-mouth or performing hasty checks—is risky. Descartes MyCarrierPortal offers a streamlined, technology-first solution that aligns with the current realities of logistics. By leveraging the community-driven Incident Reports, proven identity verification processes, and the power of a large user base, Descartes MyCarrierPortal stands as a crucial line of defense.
Benefits of Joining Now
Immediate Access to Real-Time Fraud Alerts: Stay updated on carriers who have caused issues for other customers.
Stronger Business Relationships: Clients appreciate due diligence and can be a selling point for prospective customers concerned about supply chain integrity.
Reduced Learning Curve: With integrations built for Descartes Aljex, Descartes MacroPoint, and dozens of other transportation solutions, new users can quickly incorporate fraud prevention into existing workflows.
Collective Security: Each additional user bolsters the network, expanding the community intelligence that helps everyone make better decisions.
Conclusion
In a sector where every load, every mile, and every customer interaction matter, Descartes MyCarrierPortal provides a practical and powerful shield against fraud. Its Incident Reporting feature stands out as a real-time warning system, allowing shippers and brokers to identify carriers with a history of deception or substandard performance before any damage occurs. By bringing together thousands of users and leveraging 4,468 incident reports over the last year, Descartes MyCarrierPortal has transformed what was once a patchwork approach to fraud prevention into a unified, data-driven strategy.
Moreover, the platform’s seamless integrations bring crucial due diligence directly into the daily workflow for brokers and shippers. No one should have to choose between speed and security anymore—the solution helps streamline carrier verification without slowing freight operations.
The message is clear: fraudsters thrive on fragmented information and rushed decisions. By creating a large, transparent community that shares critical incident data, Descartes MyCarrierPortal helps disrupt these tactics. Every time a user files a report or checks a carrier’s history, they contribute to a safer, more trustworthy logistics environment. For companies serious about protecting their reputations and cargo, signing up isn’t just an option; it’s a strategic necessity that can pay dividends for years to come.
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