---
title: "Broker impersonation"
url: https://carrierkyc.com/glossary/broker-impersonation
description: "Broker impersonation is a scheme in which a fraudster poses as a real freight broker, using its name, MC number or a lookalike email, to book carriers."
---

# Broker impersonation

**Definition:** Broker impersonation is a scheme in which a fraudster poses as a real freight broker, using its name, MC number or a lookalike email, to book carriers.

Also called: Fake broker, Broker identity theft. Category: Fraud.

It shows up in three forms. A fake broker tenders loads to carriers, then never pays or routes the freight to thieves. A fake broker contact confirms invented loads to a factor during verification. Or a client creates a debtor from scratch, with a company name and domain close to a real broker's, to back fake invoices.

For a factor, the danger is that the broker is your [account debtor](https://carrierkyc.com/glossary/account-debtor). If the contact you verify with was handed to you by the client, the verification proves nothing. Verisk CargoNet describes criminals using compromised accounts to impersonate trusted parties and alter shipment details while appearing legitimate to brokers, carriers and shippers.

> **Red flag: Red flags** Broker email on a free provider or a recently registered domain. Contact details on the rate con that differ from the broker's website or credit report. A broker MC whose FMCSA record lists a different phone and address. Payment instructions or verification requests routed through a new contact.

Get broker contacts from an independent source, check the email domain against the broker's real one, and confirm active broker authority and bond. The guide on [verifying a freight broker](https://carrierkyc.com/guides/how-to-verify-a-freight-broker) covers the steps.

## Related

- [Lookalike domain](https://carrierkyc.com/glossary/lookalike-domain)
- [Verification call](https://carrierkyc.com/glossary/verification-call)
- [Account debtor](https://carrierkyc.com/glossary/account-debtor)
- [How to verify a freight broker before you fund their loads](https://carrierkyc.com/guides/how-to-verify-a-freight-broker)
- [Carrier risk check](https://carrierkyc.com/tools/carrier-check)

## Sources

- [Verisk: Cargo theft losses more than double to $304 million in Q2](https://www.verisk.com/company/newsroom/cargo-theft-losses-more-than-double-to-$304-million-in-q2-despite-a-drop-in-thefts-driven-by-high-value-metals-and-technology-heists/) (Verisk CargoNet press release, 2026-08-06)