How to Spot a Transport & Logistics Scam in Australia (And What to Do If You’ve Been Targeted)

Transport and logistics scams are on the rise across Australia. And they are victimising ordinary people who simply need a container, a freight booking, or a delivery service. These are not crude, obvious schemes. They are sophisticated operations that impersonate real, established businesses, complete with stolen ABNs, copied website designs, and professional-looking invoices.

We are writing this because it happened to us, and we want to make sure it does not happen to you. In 2025, a scammer used the mobile number (via WhatsApp) to pose as our company, booking transport jobs, quoting our ABN, and directing people to a fake website built to look like ours. If you have been contacted by this number, please do not transfer any money. Call us directly on (02) 4275 1755 to verify.

But beyond our own situation, this blog exists to serve as a guide for anyone in Australia who is searching for transport, freight, or container services and wants to know how to protect themselves.

What Is a Transport and Logistics Scam?

Transport and container scams involve fraudsters who set up fake websites, fake social media pages, or fake phone profiles that closely mimic legitimate Australian businesses. They copy real ABNs, real business names, real addresses, and sometimes even the photos from a genuine company's website to make everything look convincing.



The victim, usually someone who has found the listing on Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, or via a WhatsApp message, goes through what feels like a normal booking process. They receive an invoice that looks professional, they transfer the money via bank transfer, and then the "company" goes dark. No container is delivered. No callback is answered. The money is gone.

According to Consumer Protection WA, losses from shipping container scams alone surpassed $84,000 in just the first eight months of 2025, with 12 victims affected, and the full-year 2024 total was nearly $93,500. These are not small amounts. They are life-affecting losses, often for people who simply needed a container for storage, a move, or a building project.

How These Scams Work: Tactics to Be Wary Of

Knowing how these scammers operate is the single most effective way to avoid becoming a victim. Here are the most common tactics in use across Australia right now:



Fake websites on free hosting platforms

Scammers frequently use free developer hosting platforms like Vercel, Netlify, or GitHub Pages because these domains look technical and legitimate, and they bypass many spam filters that would otherwise flag a suspicious .biz or newly registered .com.au site. Look for hyphens and random strings in the URL (something like businessname-transport-rho.vercel.app) as a clear warning sign. A genuine, established transport company will have a clean, professionally registered domain.

Northern Territory Consumer Affairs recently warned about a fake logistics site impersonating a business called Logistics Enterprises Pty Ltd. The scammers did not even bother changing the website template. They simply swapped the business name. The NT authority noted that they usually do not find out about these sites until a consumer has already handed over their money.

WhatsApp and SMS contact from unverified mobile numbers

Genuine logistics companies do not initiate bookings, request deposits, or send invoice links via WhatsApp from personal mobile numbers. If someone contacts you about a transport or container booking through WhatsApp using a number you cannot verify against publicly listed business contacts, treat it as suspicious immediately. This is currently the primary method scammers use to reach victims, bypassing Google entirely and going directly.

Real ABNs being quoted

This is a particularly deceptive tactic. Scammers use real ABNs from legitimate businesses so that a quick ABN lookup appears to return a credible result. An ABN check does not confirm you are actually speaking to that business. It only confirms the ABN exists. Always cross-reference by calling the business on a number sourced independently, from their official website or a directory listing, not a number provided in the message or on the site you found.

Fake delivery scheduling to stall for time

WA Commissioner for Consumer Protection Trish Blake has highlighted that scammers are now scheduling fake deliveries more than a week in advance. This is not to fulfil the order. It is purely to buy time to move the funds before the victim realises what has happened, making recovery far more difficult.

Marketplace and social media listings

Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree are the primary sources for transport and container scam referrals in Australia. Scammers post listings at prices that are noticeably below market value, then send a link via direct message to "confirm the booking" or "view the invoice." Private groups and comments on unrelated posts are also used to distribute links without triggering platform detection.

A Real-World Example: Our Own Impersonation

In 2025, we became the target of an impersonation scam. A scammer created a fake website using our business name, copied our ABN, and began soliciting transport bookings via WhatsApp.

This is a textbook example of how these scams are structured. The scammer chose a well-known, long-established local operator specifically because our reputation and ABN add credibility to their pitch. If you found a "Braileys Transport" website at any address other than braileys.com.au, or received a booking request from that number, do not proceed. Call us directly on (02) 4275 1755.

How to Verify Any Transport or Logistics Business Before You Pay

Before transferring money to any transport, freight, or container company you have found online, run through these checks.

Call the publicly listed number independently

Do not call the number provided in the listing or message. Search for the business name in a directory or on Google Maps and call that number directly. If it does not match what you have been given, stop.

Check the domain carefully

Legitimate, established businesses have clean, professionally registered domains. Be wary of hyphens, random letter strings, or platform suffixes like .vercel.app or .netlify.app. When in doubt, close the site and search for the business name directly.

Use the ICANN domain lookup tool

This free tool shows you who registered a domain and, critically, when. A site registered in the last few weeks or months that claims to represent a business with decades of history is an immediate red flag.

Run a reverse image search

If a listing includes photos of containers, trucks, or facilities, run those images through Google's reverse image search. Scammers routinely steal photos from legitimate operators' websites and social media pages.

Check Facebook Page Transparency

If you found the business through a Facebook page, click on "Page Transparency" to see when the page was created and whether it has recently changed names. A logistics company supposedly operating for years but with a Facebook page created last month is not legitimate.

Never pay via bank transfer to a new, unverified contact

Once a bank transfer leaves your account, recovery is extremely difficult. In 2025, two WA consumers were only spared because their banks automatically blocked the transfer. Do not rely on that happening. Use secure payment methods where possible and be highly cautious of any seller who insists on bank transfer as the only option.

If You Have Already Transferred Money

Contact your bank or financial institution immediately and ask them to attempt a payment reversal. Time is absolutely critical. You should also report the incident to the following authorities:

National bodies (report regardless of which state you are in):

• Scamwatch (National Anti-Scam Centre): scamwatch.gov.au
• ReportCyber: cyber.gov.au/report
• ID Care (if your personal information was provided to the scammer): 1800 595 160 or idcare.org

Your state or territory consumer affairs office:

• NSW — NSW Fair Trading: 13 32 20 or fairtrading.nsw.gov.au
• VIC — Consumer Affairs Victoria: 1300 55 81 81 or consumer.vic.gov.au
• QLD — Office of Fair Trading: 13 QGOV (13 74 68) or qld.gov.au/fairtrading
• SA — Office of Consumer and Business Services: 08 8204 9777 or cbs.sa.gov.au
• WA — WA ScamNet / Consumer Protection WA: 1300 30 40 54 or consumerprotection.wa.gov.au
• TAS — Consumer, Building and Occupational Services: 1300 654 499 or cbos.tas.gov.au
• ACT — Access Canberra (Fair Trading): 02 6207 0400 or accesscanberra.act.gov.au
• NT — NT Consumer Affairs: 1800 019 319 or consumer@nt.gov.au
  

A Note From Us at Braileys Transport

Braileys Transport has been part of the Wollongong and Illawarra community for over 50 years. We are TruckSafe and NHVAS accredited. We operate from a fixed address within 500 metres of Port Kembla Outer Harbour, and we are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through our verified contact channels.

We would never ask you to confirm a booking, make a payment, or view an invoice through WhatsApp from an unverified mobile number. We would never quote you through a website you cannot verify as ours.

If you are ever in any doubt, please call us directly. We would rather spend five minutes on the phone confirming our legitimacy than have a customer lose their hard-earned money to someone exploiting our name.

How to Verify You’re Dealing With the Real Braileys

If you need to confirm you are dealing with the real Braileys Transport, use only the contact details below:

Call our verified phone number: (02) 4275 1755

Visit our official website: braileys.com.au