Fraudulent theft of truck consignments (phantom carriers) Tips for loss prevention	[German version]

5 Collection of the consignment

From the perspective of the sending party

In order to prevent the wrong goods from being loaded, the driver should be asked to provide the agreed contract number before the goods are handed over. The identity of the driver should then be reliably determined on the basis of his official identity card and compared with the data received in the advance shipping notice.

It is recommended that a document inspection device is used for inspecting the documents.

The means of transport must be checked in the same manner. The vehicle type and the vehicle registration number must be checked to ensure that they match the details given in the advance shipping notice. If any discrepancies arise, an explanation must be requested from the transport company. The agreed communication channels must be used for any inquiries. If no plausible explanation is given, the consignment should not be entrusted to the driver and the police should be called if necessary. If a plausible explanation is forthcoming from the transport company, the consignment node should be changed accordingly and the customer should be notified.

At this point at the latest, the following data should be recorded if notification has not already been received:

		full name of the driver, nationality, color copy of the driver’s personal identification documents,
		color copy of the driver’s driving license,
		official contact data (e.g. mobile phone number) for the driver, vehicle license number, state of registration and type designations of the means of transport, (e.g. semitrailer tractor unit of type sampleTractor 1234, AB-CD 1234, Germany / trailer type: SampleTrailer5678, EF-GH 9012, Germany),
		color copy of the vehicle documents (vehicle identification number).

An interface check should be carried out when the consignment is handed over. During this check, the goods should be checked for the following in accordance with Section 7 of the German Freight Forwarders‘ Standard Terms and Conditions (ADSp):

		completeness and identity,
		any apparent damage and whether the seals and fastenings etc. are intact.

If possible, a photograph or video should be taken of the driver and vehicle. This should be of a sufficiently high resolution and should be archived. The photo / video should allow unambiguous recognition of people and vehicles. Any national statutory requirements with respect to data protection must be observed when personal data is collected.

Once the consignment has been handed over, the recipient should be informed of the expected delivery date. If the journey is unbroken or direct, the details of the driver and vehicle should also be passed on to the recipient.

Those employees of the sending party who are responsible for loading should have been informed of the risk of embezzlement of truck consignments and should have been given special training with respect to the preventive measures. As a general rule, goods should be handed over with due care, but also with the necessary sensitivity.

From the perspective of the driver

Any irregularities identified during inspection at transshipment points, such as damage or a discrepancy between the actual number of pieces of cargo and that declared in the consignment note, should be noted by the driver in the consignment note and countersigned by the sender. The recipient should also be informed that such irregularities have been noted.

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