Here’s what happens:

When you click a link in the email, it gives the fraudster(s) access to your FMCSA portal, and they change your email address by one or two letters and your phone number.

Now they’re booking loads, stealing freight, and whatever else they want — pretending to be YOU.

Your company. Your insurance. Your reputation.

They can ruin everything for you. Please, please… PLEASE do not fall victim to these people.

The following is from FMCSA’s announcement of this scheme.

ALERT! Recent Phishing Scheme Targets Motor Carriers

FMCSA has identified emails impersonating FMCSA/USDOT that request sensitive data or payments and link to non-government (non-.gov) sites. Official FMCSA correspondence almost always uses a .gov email address. In special cases, such as customer surveys after Contact Center calls, emails may come from non-.gov accounts but request only feedback, not sensitive information.

What You Need to Know

• These emails DO NOT come from USDOT or FMCSA.

• Official FMCSA correspondence almost always uses a .gov email address. In special circumstances, such as customer satisfaction surveys after contacting the FMCSA Contact Center, emails may come from a non-.gov address. These surveys request feedback only and will not ask for personal, payment, or account information.

• Links in phishing emails typically lead to suspicious, non-.gov domains (for example, fmcsa.web.saferwebdattaconnect.pro).

• FMCSA will never request payment or sensitive information (such as UCR, PIN, SSN, EIN, or bank details) via unsolicited messages.

• If you have any doubts, avoid clicking links and verify all communications directly through official FMCSA channels, including contacting the FMCSA Call Center at https://ask.fmcsa.dot.gov/app/ticket or call 1-800-832-5660.

Always verify suspicious communication. Report suspicious emails to FMCSA Contact Center (https://lnkd.in/eT5Dpcpq ) and FBI IC3 (https://www.ic3.gov ).

If you receive an email or phone call after you’re loaded requesting a different delivery location, PAUSE. Any new delivery instructions received by phone, text, or email should be triple-checked before making changes to your route.

What to do:

• Verify everything. Check the phone number or email address closely.

• Do not rely on caller ID or email display names. They are often spoofed.

• Call your dispatcher, the freight broker, or the shipper directly using a known, trusted number.

• Save the number or email that was used to contact you. That detail may be important later.

Freight brokers and shippers:

If a driver or dispatcher calls to verify the delivery location or instructions, please pick up the phone. Be patient. He’s likely just as confused as you are. Diligently confirm every detail.

This five-minute conversation could save you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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Be vigilant. Be skeptical. Stay safe out there.

—Danielle

“Alexa” is trying to book loads out of Laredo.

Fake emails (JITDISPATCH.COM).

Fake phone calls from 315-306-9027.

Fake carrier setup packet.

If you receive a call or email from this carrier, PLEASE make sure it’s actually them. Call 833-781-7898 to verify.

Real shipper details, not real shippers.

Fraudsters (criminals) are now running enterprise-scale scams, impersonating employees of large construction material and project planning firms, referencing real project details, and sending “legit-looking” emails with fake credit applications and bank information, promising wires of $5k–$300k.

The load gets diverted, and you never get paid.

Everything looks real, but it isn’t. '

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On Wednesday, I posted this warning on LinkedIn and received responses from others who have been targeted.

FreightCaviar also featured a similar case on their Instagram.

Devastating example: California business loses $175K in flooring shipped to Baltimore in cargo theft scam

Fraudsters (criminals) posing as employees of AECOM, a major construction firm, placed a large order using real project details and a fake email domain. Visona shipped $175,000 worth of tile and luxury vinyl plank flooring to Baltimore.

The payment never came.
The three-generation family business now faces potential bankruptcy.

Claudia Visona, sales manager at Galleria Tile in San Francisco, fell victim to one of these scams. Criminals impersonated employees of AECOM, a major construction firm, using realistic project details and fake email domains to place a large order.

Believing the order was legitimate, Visona shipped $175,000 worth of tile and luxury vinyl plank flooring, but the payment never came. The family-owned business, now in its third generation, faces possible bankruptcy.

“My mom and my grandma’s legacy is destroyed too,” Visona said. “It’s something I was so proud to be part of. It’s really frustrating.”

#2: Bogus carriers, of course.

Multiple verified freight fraud attempts have been reported this week, originating from California. Fraudsters (criminals) are successfully passing carrier vetting tools.

They submit seemingly legitimate truck, trailer, and driver information, then bail on the load within minutes.

Their goal? Impersonate a legitimate carrier, obtain the load details/rate confirmation documents, jet over to pick it up, and disappear with the freight.

Technology can assist. It can help flag the bad guys, but it cannot replace human judgment. The best fraud prevention tool you have (outside of the technology) is still your own discernment. Trust your instincts, confirm details by phone, and question ANYTHING that feels off.

Don’t outsource your common sense to software.

Tech recommendations: SearchCarriers.com & GenLogs.

I hope that one day, we will have a high-trust industry again.
But for now… Be vigilant. Be skeptical. Stay safe out there.

—Danielle

There’s nothing more “American” these days than having non-Americans hauling all of our mail.

Since the English Language Proficiency rule took effect on June 25, 2025, there have been 27 out-of-service violations tied to drivers hauling United States Postal Service freight.

In FreightWaves’ article, ‘USPS tried to ban immigrant truck drivers — it went horribly,’ the United States Postal Service (USPS) admits to attempting to rid itself of non-domiciled truck drivers. What they failed to realize is that foreign drivers make up the majority of their contracted and contracted-through-contracted workforce.

And so, they backtracked. Fast.

This is a small preview of what could happen nationwide if every non-domiciled CDL holder had their CDL revoked. I’m not against it, but as I’ve said, it would cause some temporary chaos.

A much-needed capacity crunch kind of chaos.

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One of the carriers on the USPS English-language proficiency list caught my attention. Gurjaap Multani Transport, LLC was cited on August 26, 2025. *I do not know if he was hauling USPS freight on the date of the following incident.

Jan 19, 2025: During a snowstorm, truck driver Sukhjinder Singh (37) jackknifed on the Cheat Lake Bridge in West Virginia. That same day, Kevin Lataille (59) of Pennsylvania was reported missing.

Surveillance later showed Singh’s truck sliding on the bridge and another car plunging into the lake. A week later, on Jan 26, recovery teams pulled Lataille’s car from the water. He was still belted in the driver’s seat.

Sukhjinder Singh did not call 911. He did not even attempt to call 911.

Witnesses described his driving as reckless; deputies confirmed he struck other vehicles and kept going. On Mar 3, an arrest warrant was issued for negligent homicide, and on Mar 6, Singh was arrested in Fontana, CA, after refusing extradition.

Court records show Singh was driving for Gurjaap Multani Transport LLC, a California-based carrier. He is an illegal immigrant who does not speak English.

“Defendant Sukhjinder Singh did not call 911, attempt to call 911, or attempt to communicate to witnesses, bystanders, or first responders or law enforcement that he had struck a vehicle and knocked it off and/or potentially knocked it off the Cheat Lake Bridge and into the lake.”

Singh entered a guilty plea to one count of vehicular homicide on Monday morning. He received the maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine for negligent homicide/vehicular manslaughter. Singh will be eligible for aggravated felony deportation once his sentence has been served.

The trucking company remains active.

Anheuser-Busch & Non-active Carriers

A carrier was booked for Anheuser-Busch, whose authority had been revoked five days before the inspection. The driver could neither speak nor read English.

Clearly, whoever handled this carrier booking did not verify that the company was still active.

Chameleons & Their Markers

When I said, ‘they’d be better off using dry-erase markers,’ I was kidding. Yet, here we are…

United States Armed Forces Freight

While reviewing the English Language Proficiency OOS inspections, I found a carrier hauling US Army freight. And so, I posted it. This carrier operates almost entirely from overseas… The only activity that happens on U.S. soil is the driving of the trucks.

At first, I was shocked. Then I remembered the current state of the transportation industry. Of course, it’s been happening. In 2023, the Transportation Intermediaries Association provided a warning and expressed significant concerns about these ‘Foreign Dispatch Services’ in a report to the Committee on Armed Services.

Surely, the government will acknowledge this national security issue. Right?!

…

I hope that years from now, we can look back on all of this and see how much real, lasting change was made for American trucking in 2025. For now, we will continue working.

Support Danielle's Work.

Until next time.

Be great. Stay free.

Danielle

This week’s spotlight: email fraud schemes, White Hawk’s web of USDOTs under subpoena, CDL test scams, fatal crash litigation, FMCSA’s latest data trends, three more ELDs kicked off the approved list, and a shooting at a Love’s truck stop.

Freight Developments

Love’s Truck Stop Shooting – Boron, CA

A violent altercation between two co-drivers ended at a Love’s in Boron, California. One was taken away in an ambulance. The other, Gurjant Singh, was taken away in cuffs.

Singh was arrested at 8:55 PM and booked on two felony charges: 2nd-Degree Burglary and Attempted Murder (eff. 2012). His bail is set at $520,000.

And yes, this happened in California, where guns are already illegal.

White Hawk I, II, III, IV, V+

I will continue to say this is NEVER about one driver or one trucking company.

White Hawk, the trucking company that employed Harjinder Singh, has backups ready. This isn’t their first rodeo. If/when federal authorities focus only on the “current” company, they miss the bigger picture. This time, it looks like someone was paying attention.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is now issuing criminal subpoenas to every brokerage and trucking company tied to White Hawk.

Read the full subpoena.

Appearances & Recordings

Freight360: Uncovering the ELD Fraud Crisis (with Danielle Chaffin)

Unraveling the web of ELD fraud, chameleon carriers, and regulatory failures shows just how broken the system really is. Tools like SearchCarriers help fill the gaps left by the FMCSA.

The ELD mandate was sold as a safety measure, but was actually built for compliance. It has created far more risk instead of solving any problems. And the Hope Trans crash proves it.

The solution here is simple: tie violations to the actual ELD devices and eliminate unchecked self-certification. Until then, fraudies will continue to undercut safe carriers, drive down rates, and put the public at risk.

Exposing CDL Fraud: Hidden Cameras, Cheating, and Public Safety Threats!

The growing crisis surrounding CDL fraud continues… from non-domiciled licenses to hidden-camera test cheating. Florida, California, and other states are issuing commercial driver’s licenses to people who are not qualified to drive an 80,000lb vehicle. Enforcement is weak, corruption runs through DMVs, and crashes tied to unqualified drivers are killing families.

This isn’t about politics. It’s about public safety. If we can’t trust the system that regulates who gets behind the wheel of a truck, then every family driving alongside them is at risk.

Freight Gong Friday by FreightCaviar: Legal Perspectives on Recent Fatal Crashes

This week on Freight Gong Friday, I joined Paul-Bernard Jaroslawski and Krystian Gebis for a candid conversation with transportation attorneys Bryan Nelson and Billy Davis. We covered the rise of non-domiciled CDLs (or “limited-term” licenses), the surge in ELD fraud, and why insurance rates continue to climb. I also attempted to address one of my biggest concerns —> chameleon carriers that rebrand after fatal wrecks, yet rarely have their records pulled into new cases.

Latest USDOT Data Trends & FMCSA Updates

What’s in a name?

Can you think of any mission-critical industry in America where an email address qualifies as a legal name? I'll go first… Trucking!

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3 More ELDs Revoked by FMCSA

The FMCSA has yeeted three more electronic logging devices.

• TT ELD by TT ELD Inc

• ELOG42 by Leko Inc

• Renaissance ELD by Renaissance Group Logistics LLC

TT ELD by TT ELD Inc

TT ELD is interesting. It was previously revoked in 2024, but the issues were fixed (?), and it was re-certified. The web of affiliated companies continues.

• EVO ELD Inc (2 devices/apps)

• Ontime Logs Inc (2 devices/apps)

• ZEE App Inc (2 devices/apps)

• Zippy ELD Inc (4 devices/apps)

• 6+ trucking companies

All of the ELDs appear to be… the same. Based on what I’ve found with these white-labeled ELDs… This is not surprising.

ELOG42 by Leko Inc

Registered to an apartment in Washington and connected to an inactive U.S. logistics company, plus a logistics company and two security businesses in the UK.

Renaissance ELD by Renaissance Group Logistics LLC

Tied to two logistics companies. Corporate filings point to an apartment in Illinois, while Google and its own site (renaissanceeld.com) list New York. Very unsuspicious.

The New York address.

Email fraud.

Email fraud in trucking isn’t slowing down. The latest is coming from superprojectinc(.)com, with multiple brokers and carriers reporting they’ve been targeted.

⚠️ PLEASE check the sender’s email address and confirm who you’re dealing with! Don’t trust it at face value. Pick up the phone and call the broker or carrier directly. A five-minute call can save you from a five-figure (or bigger) loss.

That’s all for now. I’ll be back next week, maybe.

—Danielle

This is the first-ever “weekly-ish” newsletter. And by 'weekly-ish,' I mean there will be some inconsistency. While the goal is to deliver weekly, I must prioritize my sanity. And quality is more important than quantity. You won’t get this in your inbox just because I need to stick to a rigid schedule.

Also, I don’t like rules.

Freight Developments

You may or may not have heard about the English Language Proficiency (ELP) this week. I won’t rehash everything. Google will catch you up. I want to discuss the part of the story that was not featured on mainstream social media.

Secretary Duffy called out three states for significant failures in ELP enforcement. Fair. But whatever data was handed to him wasn’t the whole picture.

It isn’t just three states falling short. There are many more that have yet to issue any meaningful out-of-service violations. Today marks day 65 since June 25, 2025, the official start of ELP enforcement. During that span, Florida has issued only four violations, and California has issued just ONE, which is absolutely absurd.

Here’s what the average number of ELP out-of-service violations per day looks like by state:

• Texas: 4.92/day

• Wyoming: 4.28/day

• Tennessee: 3.52/day

• California: 0.02/day

• Florida: 0.06/day

This chart shows English Language Proficiency (ELP) out-of-service (OOS) violations in two ways:

• Blue line: Violations issued by the state.

• Red line: Where the carriers involved are actually domiciled (home state).

Carriers are being put OOS in states that enforce, while their home states twiddle their thumbs. Florida. California. Ohio. Illinois.

This isn’t just a few bad states failing to enforce the law. It’s a broken system where geography and opinions determine accountability… Or lack thereof.

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Florida v California

The back-and-forth on the CDL issuance has been nothing short of ridiculous. Political theatre, truly. DeSantis claims that the state does NOT issue ‘non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) to illegal immigrants, and he’s correct.

However, the language employed is crafted to obfuscate the substantive issues and mislead the reasonable reader through gratuitous complexity. While Florida asserts it does not issue “non-domiciled” licenses, it does issue “Limited-Term” licenses. Functionally indistinguishable from California’s practice.

Non-domiciled CDL = Limited-term CDL. There’s no “versus” here.
They are the same thing.

And yet, the conversation keeps getting dragged into political drama. This isn’t about Governor Newsom. It isn’t about Governor DeSantis. It isn’t about red states vs. blue states vs. yellow states.

This is a nationwide crisis of unqualified drivers, citizens and non-citizens alike. It’s bigger than the English language. It’s bigger than partisan theater. At the core, it’s about safety. And until we face that, the roads stay dangerous.

Appearances & Recordings

Freight Gong Friday: U-Turning Semi's On Highways

Freight Gong Friday is the closest thing to freight friends in real life (IRL). And this episode was pure joy. Easily the most fun I’ve had on a show, ever!

Steve Bannon’s WarRoom

“Steve Bannon wants you on the show tomorrow … insert cell phone number”

Me: WHAT.

“Yes. Text him.”

The last two weeks have passed so quickly, it feels like a whirlwind. One huge highlight was the privilege of joining Steve Bannon’s War Room. I'm incredibly grateful for the chance to share my perspective and be part of the conversation! What a time to be alive.

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Tyler TV. EXPOSED: Corrupted Trucking Industry SECRETS REVEALED That You Should Know

After the tragic Florida crash that killed three, TylerTV, the host of Jar Openers, came across my posts on X (thank you, Elon and the algorithm). Together, we delved into the White Hawk/Harjinder Singh crash and pulled back the lens a bit. This isn’t about one driver or one carrier. It’s about systemic CDL loopholes, state-to-state enforcement failures, and the persistent myth of a “driver shortage.”

Latest USDOT Data Trends

What’s in a name?

Many new trucking companies are choosing names that have nothing to do with over-the-road freight, yet that’s precisely what they’re hauling. A bit of subtle misdirection at its finest.

• All State Trailer and Truck Repair — 2 prior USDOT authorities.

• RACECAR TRUCK AND TRAILER REPAIR — 1 prior USDOT authority.

Disclaimer: Company names have been altered for clarity. The examples reflect real patterns, not fictional scenarios.

Or in a no-name?

July 2025 showed no slowdown in NONAMEGIVEN / FNU LNU. I’ve said it before, and I’ll continue saying it. This is intentional. It is nothing more than an attempt to evade data matching when one USDOT is shut down and the operation wants to keep operating.

That’s all for now. I’ll be back next week, maybe.

—Danielle