A Tile Showroom in San Francisco Just Lost $200,000
A $200,000 loss didn’t come from a break-in or hijacking — it came from a phone call. Fraudsters used perfect paperwork to steal freight without touching it.
By Heesham Naji | December 2025
A tile showroom in San Francisco just lost $200,000.
Not to a break-in.
Not to a hijacking.
To a phone call.
Fraudsters impersonated AECOM, a global engineering firm.
They sent W-9s.
Credit references.
LinkedIn profiles.
Everything checked out.
They placed a rush order — 25,000 square feet of porcelain tile — shipped to a storage facility in Baltimore.
Then they ordered again.
41,000 square feet of luxury vinyl plank.
When the owner called to confirm payment, the voices on the phone didn’t match the LinkedIn profiles.
That’s when she knew.
The FBI is now involved. Multiple suspects have been federally indicted. Hundreds of victims. Millions in stolen cargo.
But here’s what should haunt every broker and shipper reading this:
"“They sent W-9s, credit references — everything checked out.”
The paperwork was perfect.
The carrier was fake.
This is theft by deception. It’s up 1,500% since 2021 — and it doesn’t require anyone to touch your freight.
Criminals aren’t breaking into trailers anymore.
They’re breaking into your verification process.
The question isn’t whether your paperwork looks right.
The question is whether you’re verifying documents — or people.
Databases don’t steal freight.
People do.
Source: FreightWaves
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