Fraud
Overview
The Hidden Costs of Freight Fraud
A routine freight invoice audit uncovered more than $68,000 in fraudulent charges submitted by a transportation carrier. Our proprietary audit software flagged the suspicious duplicate billing activity, and our team quickly verified the findings. Working alongside the customer, we identified and resolved the issue, leading to a full refund and confirmation of deliberate fraud by the carrier.
How Our Systems Caught It
A Step-by-Step Guide to Detecting Fraudulent Charges
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Intelligent pattern recognition to detect irregular billing behaviors
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Duplicate invoice detection logic to identify repeat charges
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Cross-referencing of shipment data across historical invoices
In this case, the system flagged a group of invoices with identical charges, dates, and shipment details—but altered order numbers. This discrepancy triggered an alert for possible duplicate freight billing, prompting further investigation.
Investigation
Detecting and Preventing Duplicate Freight Invoices
After the alert was triggered, our audit team launched a detailed review to verify the findings. The investigation revealed that approximately 30 invoices had been resubmitted 3 to 5 weeks after their original submission. While the order numbers had been changed to avoid detection, all other details—shipment information, invoice dates, and amounts—were identical to the previously paid invoices. This manipulation confirmed an intentional effort to bypass standard duplicate billing safeguards.
Resolution
Safeguarding Your Business Against Freight Charge Fraud
We worked closely with the customer to validate the flagged invoices against their internal payment records and confirmed that duplicate submissions had been paid. Together, we enforced a formal refund claim with the carrier. Following our joint investigation, the carrier admitted to intentionally altering and resubmitting the invoices, confirming deliberate billing fraud. This collaborative effort ensured full financial recovery for the customer and reinforced future invoice oversight procedures.
Key Takeaways
$68k In fraudulent freight charges were identified and fully recovered
ITS Traffic Systems’ proprietary audit software successfully flagged duplicate invoices.
Human-led investigation confirmed the findings and provided evidence for resolution.
Customer collaboration ensured fast action, financial recovery, and strengthened future invoice controls.
Let’s Work Together
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