When Onboarding Pressure Meets Fraud Risk: Don’t Skip the Red Flags

On June 16, 2026, our third‑party logistics company received a registration from a motor carrier that mistakenly signed our Co‑Broker Agreement instead of our Broker‑Carrier Agreement. We use a popular carrier vetting and monitoring service, and this type of mismatch should not occur under normal circumstances. First red flag.

Because the motor carrier did not hold property broker authority, I asked them to go back, re‑register as a carrier, and sign our Broker‑Carrier Agreement. They replied that they were unable to do so. At the same time, a brokerage team member pushed for the carrier to be onboarded as quickly as possible, or he would “lose” the carrier. Second red flag.

In a follow‑up email, the motor carrier asked us to send a paper copy of the Broker‑Carrier Agreement for signature and copied a personal gmail.com address. That gmail.com contact then called me, requesting a rate confirmation as soon as possible so they could use the driver on another load. I explained that a rate confirmation could not be sent until we had a fully executed Broker‑Carrier Agreement on file. Third red flag.

I then researched the caller’s phone number and discovered it was associated with a second motor carrier. This was highly indicative of a double‑broker situation. I notified our brokerage team member that this carrier could not be used on his load. He asked if we could “bypass” the issue and still get the carrier onboarded. Our risk team reinforced that this fourth and final red flag meant he needed to find another, suitable motor carrier.

The original carrier was not onboarded and did not move our load, although they tried to register with us a few more times. They have now been placed on Do Not Use (DNU).

This experience reinforced a critical lesson: onboarding and vetting processes exist for a reason, and they should not be compromised just to get a load covered. When multiple red flags point toward potential double‑brokering or misrepresentation, the safest decision is to walk away—no matter how much pressure there is to say yes.