P.E.I. my eye!

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – If one of your dispatchers gets the nod from a broker for a load to be carried by PEI Logistics, call the cops. Seriously.

PEI Logistics is a legit outfit that works out of Atlanta, Ga., but some Canadian thieves have "appropriated" the company’s identity, misrepresented themselves as PEI staff, and stolen loaded tractor trailers as a result.

According to Constable Steve Arney of the Peel Regional Police’s Commercial Auto Crime Bureau, somebody’s been making up fake invoice numbers and using PEI’s letterhead, based on designs swiped off the company’s website.

"In each instance," he says, "brokers were contacted for the freight and were sent the insurance and operating authorities of PEI Logistics."

In several instances, the caller made arrangements with a broker, picked up the freight, and disappeared with it.

"Somebody’s really done their homework," Arney said.

"Everything’s done over the phone; they give out a cell phone number that’s of course fake, it’s all very convincing."

Arney advises that if your company hears from PEI, you can contact the Georgia office of the company or your local police station to see if the offer’s legit.

In fact, Arney, whose specialty is commercial vehicle crime, advises against using any brokers or carriers you don’t know without doing background checks.