Authority Watch protects your MC and monitors every broker and carrier you work with. ThreatLine scores them before you book. After Montgomery v. Caribe, this isn’t optional — it’s your due diligence on record. Two tools, one Carrier Protection Suite.
May 14, 2026 — Two Events Changed Everything
SCOTUS ruled 9-0 in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport that freight brokers can be sued for dispatching unsafe carriers. The same day, FMCSA launched MOTUS — a new registration system designed to catch chameleon carriers. Authority Watch has been doing both since day one. If you’re not monitoring, you’re exposed.
Threat Level: Active — Carriers Targeted Daily
CRIMINALS ARESTEALINGYOUR AUTHORITY.
They don’t break in. They don’t hack you. They find your MC number on a public database, file a single character change with FMCSA, and start brokering loads under your name. By the time you find out — the money is gone, shippers are furious, and your insurance record may never recover.
Your MC number, company name, address, and phone number are publicly searchable on FMCSA’s SAFER database. Anyone in the world can pull your full carrier profile in under 30 seconds — no account, no authorization, no paper trail. This is step one of every authority theft.
The same database regulators use to verify carriers is the same database criminals use to find their next target.
02The Exploit
They File a Change with FMCSA
One Character. That’s All It Takes.
FMCSA allows carriers to update their own records — name, address, contact info. Fraudsters exploit this by filing a change that looks legitimate: one letter different in the company name, a slightly different address, a phone number that forwards to them. FMCSA processes it. Your record now points to them.
They don’t need your login. They don’t need your password. They just need to look enough like you to get the change processed.
03The Crime
They Broker Loads Under Your MC
Hundreds of Loads Before Anyone Notices
Now they go to load boards and broker sites with your MC number. It shows an active authority. Shippers and brokers run the MC, see a legitimate carrier, and release cargo. The fraudsters collect payment and disappear. They may operate for weeks before anyone catches on — booking more loads than a real carrier could handle.
Every load they broker is a load that points back to your authority. Every complaint, every cargo claim, every angry shipper — all your MC number.
04Your Problem
The Damage Lands on You
The Criminals Are Gone. You’re Not.
The criminals vanish. But your MC number is now attached to cargo theft complaints, failed deliveries, angry shippers, and potential fraud investigations. Your insurance carrier starts getting calls. FMCSA may flag your authority for review. You start receiving calls and legal notices about shipments you never touched, loads you never booked.
Clearing your name takes months. Some carriers never fully recover their reputation or insurance standing.
05The Reality
You Find Out Too Late
Most Carriers Discover This Weeks After It Starts
Most carriers find out when a shipper calls demanding answers about a load they never hauled, or when their insurance carrier calls about a cargo claim. Weeks. Sometimes months. The fraudsters have already moved to the next target. The damage is done, the money is gone, and now you’re the one answering for it.
The only defense is knowing the moment your FMCSA record changes — before anyone else acts on it.
How We Stop It
Authority Watch
01
We Capture Your Baseline
The moment you register we pull your current FMCSA record and lock every field in as your verified baseline. This is your ground truth.
02
We Watch Every Day
Our system checks your FMCSA record daily — company name, address, phone, authority status, every field. Compared against your baseline every single day.
03
You Get the Alert Now
The moment anything changes you get an alert showing exactly what changed, what it was before, and what steps to take. Not tomorrow. Now.
Why This Matters Now
Montgomery v. Caribe Transport
The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that freight brokers can be sued under state law for negligently hiring unsafe carriers. The federal preemption shield brokers hid behind for 30 years is gone.
If you’re a carrier — the brokers you work with are now legally liable for who they dispatch. Authority Watch monitors broker authority status so you know the broker handling your freight is legitimate and active.
If you’re a broker — you need documented proof that you checked every carrier before you dispatched them. Authority Watch creates a timestamped, auditable record of every carrier’s authority status, insurance, and safety data. That record is your defense.
FMCSA MOTUS — Launched May 14, 2026
FMCSA retired its 30-year-old registration systems and launched MOTUS — a new platform with identity verification and automated fraud detection designed to catch chameleon carriers. 18% of FMCSA registrations came back undeliverable when the agency checked. That’s nearly 400,000 ghost or fraudulent registrations in the old system.
Authority Watch was built for this. We monitor the same FMCSA data MOTUS validates. When a carrier’s authority changes, gets flagged, or goes inactive, you know immediately — not weeks later when the damage is done.
Choose Your Protection
Free
$0/mo
Basic monitoring. Your first line of defense.
✓ 1 MC number
✓ Checks every 48 hours
✓ Email alerts
✕ SMS alerts
✕ Multiple MC numbers
MOST POPULAR
Owner-Op
$9.99/mo
Full protection with documented due diligence on every authority you monitor.
✓ Up to 3 MC numbers
✓ Daily checks
✓ Email + SMS alerts
✓ Instant notification
✓ Full alert history
Fleet
$24.99/mo
For carriers and brokers monitoring every authority in their network.
✓ Unlimited MC numbers
✓ Daily checks
✓ Email + SMS alerts
✓ Instant notification
✓ Full alert history
Payment cancelled. Your registration was not processed.
Register Your MC
Takes 60 seconds. We capture your baseline the moment you register. Free plan is instant — paid plans go through Stripe checkout.
Free Plan
Change anytime
$0/mo
Numbers only — no MC prefix needed
Required for Owner-Op and Fleet plans.
No spam. Alerts only when something changes. Cancel anytime.