Did you know that the phone number, addresses, and emails you use to open your trucking company becomes public information through the FMCSA? New trucking authority applicants will receive hundreds of spam calls, texts, emails, and mail starting the minute they apply for their trucking authority. Solicitors scrape data from the FMCSA database and use the data to cold call and offer new entrants their services. Many of these solicitors are scammers and some are also companies that offer unnecessary services like life insurance, expensive BOC-3, unethical factoring companies, biennial updates, drug and alcohol supervisor training and more. In this article, we will share a few tips on how to avoid falling victim to FMCSA solicitor spam and scammers.

Work with a reputable company! Here at TexasTruckPermits.com, we help you through every step in starting your own trucking company. We also help you through your daily operations once you get started through our reputable partner freight factoring company. We are an honest family owned company with our office located in Houston, Texas. Get your trucking authority with us today! We make the process easy with our trucking authority packages.

Things You Can Do To Avoid FMCSA related Fraud

  • Set up a business email and phone number when applying for your trucking authority. We recommend our clients to get a business email address and business phone number so that they can avoid the bombardment of spam they receive once we apply for the authority.

 

  • FMCSA scammers often act like they’re government employees or say they work for the FMCSA. Don’t send money or give out personal information to unexpected requests — whether it comes as a text, a phone call, or an email. The FMCSA does not contact carriers through telemarketers or robocalls.

 

  • Do your research. If a solicitor calls you saying that you’re required to pay for a service or product for your trucking company. Make sure you do your research online or ask someone with experience like a friend. We often get calls from clients confused about a letter, call or text they’ve received. Most of the time, it’s an unnecessary service.

 

  • Be skeptical about caller ID. Especially within the first month of when you apply for your authority. Scammers can fake caller IDs so the name and number you see can possibly be fake. If someone unknown calls asking for money or personal information, you should hang up. If you think the caller was telling the truth, call the FMCSA directly at 1-800-832-5660.

 

  • Scammers will often ask you to wire money through services like Western Union or MoneyGram since it’s nearly impossible to get your money back. Government offices and honest companies won’t require you to use unusual payment methods.

 

  • Hang up on robocalls immediately. You should report robocalls to the FTC if possible. These calls are illegal and the products they’re selling tend to be unnecessary or overpriced You can sign up for free scam alerts from the FTC at ftc.gov/scams. If you spot a scam, report it at ftc.gov/complaint. Your reports can help bring these con artists to justice.

One major rule of thumb is that you shouldn’t give your business to companies who have to cold call and harass customers to get their services. Many companies will call and text you every single day to get your business. If they were a reputable business, they wouldn’t have to use deceptive tactics by calling and harassing you to earn your business. Here at TexasTruckPermits.com and our group of companies, we never cold call customers. Most of our customers come from sources like existing customers telling their friends about us. With our many services, we’ve helped 100’s of companies start and be successful. We let our great reputation do the talking!

Contact us now to get your trucking company started! We help you throughout the whole process- From entity formation and applying for your trucking authority to running your business with the help of trucking factoring services. Call 832-787-2111 or visit TexasTruckPermits.com today!