Amazon this week pitched its Relay carrier platform as a structural fix for freight fraud, betting a closed, direct-tender network is safer than the open load boards where double-brokering and identity theft thrive. Double-brokering is the core scam: a fraudster wins a load on an open marketplace, secretly re-brokers it to an unsuspecting carrier, and pockets the difference while the cargo often vanishes. A closed network with no resale, Amazon argues, removes the opening.
How it works: On an open load board, a posted load can change hands multiple times before a truck arrives, and each handoff creates an opportunity for a fake carrier to slip in. Amazon instead tenders loads straight to vetted carriers where, it says, “carriers can’t re-tender loads through unauthorized subcontracting” and only verified Relay carriers haul its freight.
Drivers clear ID verification and a background check before receiving a load, with real-time photo checks on active trips. Carriers must hold an interstate DOT number that is at least 180 days old and maintain either a “Satisfactory” or unrated FMCSA safety score. Amazon also uses “AI-driven anomaly detection combined with a team of professionals” to monitor double-brokering, while trailer telematics alert security if doors open in transit or a trailer leaves its planned route.
The recruiting push: A separate Prime Day campaign offers a monthly safety bonus tied to collision-free mileage, rising with cumulative mileage:
1¢/mile — first 50,000
2¢/mile — 50,000–200,000
3¢/mile — 200,000–300,000
4¢/mile — 300,000–400,000
Amazon is also subsidising dashcams for carriers that do not already use them, while a $1,500 sign-on incentive is available to carriers approved and completing at least seven loads by July 11, FreightWaves reported.
The backdrop: Cargo-theft losses hit roughly $725 million in 2025, up 60% year over year, with the average theft at $273,990, CargoNet reported. In a TIA survey, 97% of brokers identified truckload as the mode most vulnerable to fraud, and 22% reported losses exceeding $200,000 from fraud over a six-month period.
Across the sector: The weakness Amazon is targeting is the same one challenging open-market brokers. C.H. Robinson, the largest broker, said it “strictly prohibits double brokering” and permanently blocks offenders, an approach Amazon’s closed model avoids by never exposing loads to resale. The company has also built automated blocking technology that flags carriers as soon as FMCSA publishes a suspended authority.
Why it matters: Brokers are competing less on anti-fraud marketing and more on network design that makes the claim hold up. Amazon’s controls align with the five safeguards most relevant to strategic cargo theft, all reflected in the tools it and C.H. Robinson publicly describe: identity verification, a strict no-subcontract rule, FMCSA-based auto-blocking, direct tendering, and trailer telematics. The pitch leaves out Amazon’s own pressure point: carriers’ complaints about Relay center on rates below open-market lanes and long facility dwell times, rather than fraud.
