The US economy is facing significant headwinds, and the effects are being felt far beyond spending habits or business investment. Bubbling away under the surface is a growing problem facing the supply chain. Where it’s been well documented that downturns in the economy have coincided with higher rates of theft and fraud, this has typically been centred around the banking and financial services vertical, yet now we are seeing rising rates of fraud around large shipments of consumer goods and household items. Rather than stealing one-off, expensive goods, in a quantity over quality approach, thieves are targeting leggings, sodas, household essentials, and other low-cost items that can be stolen in bulk and quickly resold to smaller retailers or shipped abroad to be purchased by unknowing consumers.
Suppliers won’t be brought down from just a few low value items going missing, however the rate of theft frequency raises concerns as these goods become the new currency of fraud during periods of economic strain. Fake IDs are often central to the sophisticated schemes that result in lost cargo.
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