Fake Load Posting Checklist

How this comes up in practice

A load posting that uses a legitimate broker's MC number and company name requires only publicly available information to create. The contact email in the posting may differ by one character from the real broker's domain. Responding to that email — or sending a carrier packet to it — means the packet goes to whoever created the posting, not to the actual broker. The verification that prevents this: checking the contact email domain character by character against the broker's real domain from a prior confirmed source, and calling the broker's main office to ask whether they created this specific posting. A posting is a lead to investigate; it is not itself verification of the poster's identity.

What a load board posting can and can't establish about a broker

A load board posting establishes that someone created an account and posted a load. It doesn't establish that person is authorized to act for the broker entity named in the posting. The fraud works because everything in a posting that a legitimate broker could provide — a real MC number, a plausible rate, a recognizable shipper location — is also available to a fraudster with access to public FMCSA records and knowledge of normal freight lanes. For adjacent verification steps, compare this with Load Board Scam Red Flags, How to Verify a Freight Broker, and Too-Good-To-Be-True Rate Signals.

The verification step that most carriers skip is confirming that the posting came from someone with actual authority to represent the named broker. The posting creates the impression of authorization; the confirmation call creates actual evidence of it. Responding to a posting without that call means sending documents or pickup details to whoever controls the account, not necessarily to the broker named in it.

This checklist puts the identity verification step before any response to the posting, because the order matters: a carrier packet sent to a fraudulent account can't be unsent. Verifying the broker's identity through a contact established independently of the posting — then responding — keeps the cart in the right order.

Verifying the identity behind a load board posting before responding

A fake load posting can be created in minutes using a legitimate company's name and MC number. The posting may include a real shipper location, a plausible rate, and an email domain that differs from the legitimate broker's by one character. The goal is to get a carrier to send a packet, respond with driver details, or take a load without completing the identity verification that would catch the misrepresentation.

The verification that matters isn't checking the load board's records — it's confirming the broker identity through a channel that was established independently. The posting should be treated as a lead to verify, not as the verification itself.

Records to check before responding to an unfamiliar posting

Use the same identifiers across every record. Small differences can be clerical, but they should be resolved before pickup, dispatch, or payment.

If a detail is missing, ask for the missing record rather than filling the gap from memory, an old packet, or a search result.

What to save from a posting before acting or sending documents

Save records in their original format when possible. Use one folder named with the load number, lane, date, and parties involved.

If a dispute, identity concern, or theft concern appears later, the timeline is easier to reconstruct when emails, PDFs, screenshots, call notes, and lookup results are grouped together.

Questions that verify the posting's actual origin before any contact

Questions should be specific and tied to records. That keeps the conversation professional and avoids unsupported accusations.

If an answer changes the transaction, document the person, date, time, and channel used to confirm it.

What a real MC number in a posting doesn't confirm about who created it

One detail checking out is not the same as authorization confirmed. A correct number, a recognized company name, or a well-formatted document can each appear in a transaction where the communicating party has no connection to the registered entity.

A warning sign is a reason to document and verify, not a finding. Record what prompted the concern and what check it led to — that record determines whether the situation can be addressed if it escalates.

When a posting requires a broker callback before any packet is shared

When the file still has gaps, slow the transaction enough to preserve the record and move the question to the right channel.

That may mean a direct call-back, a shipper or receiver confirmation, an internal escalation, an insurer or claims contact, or an official complaint or reporting resource where appropriate.

Source Notes

FAQ