The route was set up: fraudsters began to attack logistics using AI
Deepfake and artificial intelligence technologies have increasingly been used by fraudsters in the logistics sector, market participants said. For example, unscrupulous customers use bots to generate SMS messages and payment receipts that are presented to the driver. AI is also used to substitute contact and payment information on freight exchanges. The attackers also create fake profiles and websites of companies and attack employees, experts say. About what other schemes are used against logisticians, see the Izvestia article.
How attackers attack logisticians
Fraudsters began to actively attack the logistics sector using artificial intelligence technologies, industry representatives told Izvestia. In particular, Roman Sudorgin, the founder of the Main Transport industry portal, pointed out cases of document forgery at one of the largest companies on the market.
"The schemes are getting more sophisticated," he said. — Deepfakes and AI are already being used to deceive transportation participants.
For example, logistics companies complain that unscrupulous customers use bots to generate SMS payment receipts that are presented to the driver. As a result, the transportation is completed, but no payment is received for it.
— The driver needs to use only their own banking applications, — said one of the companies. — Carriers from English-speaking countries are paying attention to the significantly increased effectiveness of phishing attacks. If earlier there might have been broken logos in such mailings, and there were grammatical errors in the text, now, thanks to AI, the fake is becoming as close to the original as possible.
Even phishing sites, as the editorial interlocutors pointed out, look like exact copies of trust resources. Further, after the victim enters access passwords, the AI acts as quickly as possible — it replaces contact and payment information on freight exchanges to receive funds or steal cargo, and also creates new fake carriers with the victim's real data. For example, rights and personal photos.
According to Alexey Ivanov, the owner of the Alliance Trucks commercial vehicle dealership network, he has encountered more primitive but potentially dangerous attempts at social engineering.
—The attackers created accounts in messengers that visually completely copy the company's profile," he said. — On her behalf, they tried to get in touch with the staff, asking seemingly harmless, but in fact provocative questions: about the past place of work, conflicts with management, changes of positions. The goal is to gather information for possible pressure, discredit, or create a "legend" for more sophisticated attacks.
What other schemes are used by scammers?
The logistics industry has become one of the targets for cybercriminals using artificial intelligence technologies, Dmitry Meshavkin, Product Manager of Solar Dozor Group of Companies, confirmed.
"There has been a sharp increase in cases where fraudsters create fake voice messages from company executives, demanding that employees urgently change the delivery route or transfer a large amount to a "new supplier account," he said. — Attacks using fake documents are especially dangerous — AI allows you to create invoices and certificates that are almost impossible to distinguish from the real ones.
There are also cases of fake video calls with "partners" who extract confidential information about valuable goods and their delivery routes.
Fraud is quite common in the modern e-commerce market, but to a greater extent it comes from B2C orders, confirmed the logistics director of the online hypermarket for professionals and businesses "All Tools.<url>" George Kim.
— This is finding some imperfections of the system, trying to scale them and get benefits. However, there were also outright cases of illegal actions," he said.
It is necessary to separate attacks on the companies themselves and on their clients or small contractors, such as drivers, said Ashot Oganesyan, founder of DLBI's data leak intelligence and darknet monitoring service. In the first case, the goal is theft and subsequent sale of data, as well as infection with encryption viruses.
"Attacks on customers eventually come down to stealing funds through phishing sites and passwords, for example, in Russia from the Gosuslugi service," he said. — Finally, attacks on contractors, although they are better called banal fraud, are aimed at stealing delivered goods or obtaining free transportation services.
Technologies and the use of AI make it possible to make indistinguishable fakes of any sites or documents, said the data analyst of the Coordination Center of domains .RU/.Russian Federation Evgeny Pankov.
— Scammers attack logistics companies and carriers in order to gain financial benefits. The fact is that the logistics industry is a large and dynamic sector of the economy, in which small and medium—sized companies are actively operating, as well as private carriers that have low digital literacy and do not have their own cyber defense systems — all this makes them attractive targets for fraudsters, he said.
In addition, the specifics of the industry are the high cost of cargo, short deadlines and the need to make quick decisions, Dmitry Meshavkin added. For example, when it comes to cargo worth tens of millions of rubles, and the decision to change the route is made promptly by phone call. At this point, attackers can get all the necessary information using a relatively simple attack scheme.
"There are also cases of industrial espionage, when insiders steal information about new delivery technologies or exclusive contracts," the expert said.
How can logisticians secure their work
In 2025, logistics is in a fever due to global economic changes, said Mikhail Koptev, Commercial Director of Skif-Cargo transport company.
— Many companies are facing supply disruptions. This leads to delays and increased costs," he said. — Fuel prices have increased, and new environmental standards require investments in machinery. All this affects the profitability of transportation.
The logistics sector in Russia and abroad is famous for its extremely low level of information security, old and dangerous software with a lot of vulnerabilities, as well as poorly trained personnel, Ashot Oganesyan emphasized.
"Protection can begin by eliminating any of these problems, but in order to reduce, if not the number, then the damage from attacks, it is necessary to solve them all," he pointed out. — However, it is difficult to say whether this is possible in the current economic conditions.
It is necessary to always be on your guard and not trust information from the screen until it is confirmed through a reliable source, Evgeny Pankov added.
"This applies to both receipts and SMS messages about payment, as well as links to supposedly official services," the expert said. — It is better not to follow unverified links from newsletters and emails, but if necessary, carefully check the website address, and check all financial confirmations in your banking application.
Special attention should be paid to account protection on logistics platforms. For example, you can use complex passwords, two-factor authentication, and not transfer access to third parties.
Since scammers are aimed specifically at making quick profits by deceiving employees, it is critically important to work with the human factor, Dmitry Meshavkin added.
"Therefore, companies from the logistics industry are recommended to implement mandatory double verification procedures for all operations related to route changes, financial transfers or cargo transfers," he believes. — Any "urgent" call from management must be confirmed through an alternative communication channel.
It is important to take a comprehensive approach to data protection, using enterprise-class systems that prevent information security incidents around the perimeter, experts stressed.
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