Fuel card skimming—the act of installing a hidden device on a fuel pump—just got a creepy upgrade: AI skimming.
Fraudsters are now using AI to make their emails, invoices, and calls sound exactly like your dispatcher. Unfortunately, it’s working. On average, 5-10% of a fleet’s annual fuel consumption is lost to theft, resulting in quadruple-digit losses for carriers just trying to get by.
Here’s the latest on fuel card fraud and what you can do about it.
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How AI Changed Fuel Card Skimming
Phishing
As AI has grown in sophistication, fraudsters are cutting the fuel pump out of the skimming scheme in favor of something more subtle.
Like a bizarre robot parrot, generative AI is allowing scammers to mimic the voices and appearances of emails you would expect to receive from your fuel card company or your dispatcher. With surgical precision, they request sensitive information, such as PINs and login credentials, in the voices and fonts of trusted sources.
Since the rise of ChatGPT, phishing has increased by 1265%. That’s 12x as many fraudulent emails as ever before. The worst part? Scammers will only get better and better at impersonating your dispatchers and vendors.
Voice Cloning
Imagine this: You’re talking with your dispatcher over the phone, when suddenly you notice something off. They may have gotten a detail wrong, or maybe, for a moment, their voice sounded totally like someone else.
You aren’t in the Twilight Zone. This is one of the eeriest tactics of AI skimming: the ability for fraudsters to make their voices sound exactly like your dispatcher’s over the phone.
Using just 3 – 5 seconds of audio, scammers can craft a phony voice with 85% accuracy. These audio samples are typically taken from social media, voicemails, corporate videos, etc., put through AI, and then melded into a Frankenstein of your dispatcher in robot form.
Once an imposter voice has been secured, fraudsters will call carriers, posing as dispatchers, to request sensitive information like PINs, press you urgently, and obtain the information required to use your fuel card.
AI-Generated Documents
Another popular cheat code for free fuel involves the creation of fraudulent receipts, invoices, and transaction documents by AI. Like phishing emails, these assets are virtually indistinguishable from official company communications.
Scammers will get their grubby hands on legitimate documentation, feed it to AI, and have a custom style guide for your company. They’ll then send fraudulent documentation to your accounting department and pass it off as the real thing.
How to Avoid AI Fuel Card Skimming
You know all the obvious answers already: remain vigilant, check for discrepancies, look for typos… all that is helpful.
Did you know that factoring services can drastically reduce your chances of being subject to fuel fraud?
Factoring companies fight fraud in three ways:
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Back-office Support
Credible factoring companies will audit invoices and carefully inspect them to identify hard-to-catch inconsistencies. Often, this service is included in your factoring package.
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Debtor Verification
Deepfakes are stopped in their tracks as factoring companies verify invoices with a debtor. Once the real person is on the phone, the phony call or document will be exposed.
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Credit Checks
Credit checks add a valuable layer of security by bolstering the credibility of your clientele, making it much harder for scammers to slip through the cracks.
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If you need payment on your loads within 24 hours and additional protection from freight fraud, fill out this form to get started.
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AI skimming is ravaging an already vulnerable industry. With uncanny calls and emails that look just like the ones you know, scammers are intensifying their efforts to commit fuel fraud.
By utilizing a credible factoring company like England Carrier Services, you can stay safe and trust your dispatcher.
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The England Carrier Services (ECS) division offers various services for carriers ranging from maintenance to support. As ECS members, carriers have access to nationwide discounts on fuel and tires from dedicated team members committed to finding the best price. ECS also provides factoring services with benefits such as same-day funding to a bank account or fuel card. These options allow carriers the freedom to focus on growing their business while saving time and money.