George, the manager of a small U.S. trucking company, was alerted around 6 a.m. on a recent Monday that an employee was having computer problems. So George investigated. At first he thought it was a garden variety computer virus. 

But this was no ordinary virus.The anti-virus software was disabled, and all of the files were encrypted. The same had happened to all the other computers left on over the weekend, as well as the server. The hackers left notes in text files to begin the process of attempting to extort the carrier. This was a ransomware attack. The hackers wanted $300,000.

Long-Haul Crime Log tells the story of how George and his company grappled with the cyberattack. The crime left him shaken, especially since the hackers managed to access the digital nerve center of the company: the Transportation Management System, or TMS. 

This week’s episode is hosted by FreighWaves journalists Nate Tabak and Clarissa Hawes. Reach out at 

[email protected]

 or find us on Twitter @

LongHaulCrime

.

Reach out at [email protected]. 

Read the headlines at FreightWaves.com

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Subscribe on Spotify

More FreightWaves Podcasts

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On April 19, 2019, a truck driver sent a text message to his boss, Damir Sisic, owner of Sisic Transport Services (STS). He had less than two hours left before his legal driving time was up under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Hours-of-Service rule, but he needed to keep driving in order to deliver his load on time. 

“Please don’t forget to fix my logs,” the driver wrote. So Sisic, who owned the trucking company, took care of it. He altered the driver’s electronic log, something he did thousands of times for his drivers. He gave him 5 more hours. “Hopefully it’s enough,” Sisic texted back. The driver would soon be dead. 

On this episode of Long-Haul Crime Log: we hear that despite the FMCSA’s efforts to curb hours-of-service violations by mandating electronic logging devices, carriers are still inventing ways to skirt the rules by “cooking the books” and falsifying drivers’ log books. 

Join journalists Nate Tabak and Clarissa Hawes for the latest episode of FreightWaves’ true-crime podcast, presented by FreightCasts.

Reach out at [email protected]. 

Read the headlines at FreightWaves.com

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Subscribe on Spotify

More FreightWaves Podcasts

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Things looked bad for rookie trucker Varinder Singh at the U.S.-Canada border in November after U.S. border officers in Detroit found nearly $3 million worth of marijuana in his trailer. Singh told investigators that he knew nothing about the drugs. They didn’t believe him. So he was arrested and charged. But his lawyer believed him, and eventually so did U.S. prosecutors. 

On the next episode of Long-Haul Crime Log: we hear from the lawyer who cleared the driver’s name and secured his release. Plus, everything you need to know about the massive amount of methamphetamine found hidden in a tractor-trailer in Texas. 

Join journalists Noi Mahoney, Nate Tabak and Clarissa Hawes for the latest episode of FreightWaves’ true-crime podcast, presented by FreightCasts.

Reach out at [email protected]. 

Read the headlines at FreightWaves.com

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Subscribe on Spotify

More FreightWaves Podcasts

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Mexico, criminal cartels have been busy exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic and medical supply chains to make money. In this episode of Long-Haul Crime Log, we look at how cartels are taking advantage of the medical crisis to pursue profits outside of the drug trade and cargo theft. Meanwhile, there are growing fears that the cartels will undermine the country’s vaccine rollout. 

We also delve into the story of a bookkeeper who defrauded a family-owned trucking company and farm in Missouri out of more than $700,000. Her crimes went unnoticed for years.

Join journalists Noi Mahoney, Nate Tabak and Clarissa Hawes for the latest episode of FreightWaves’ true-crime podcast, presented by FreightCasts.

Reach out at [email protected]

Read the headlines at FreightWaves.com

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Subscribe on Spotify

More FreightWaves Podcasts

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On July 30, 2010, two team truck drivers pulled over their rig on a road in Arizona to change seats. They didn’t know about a nearby prison break. Soon they’d be at the mercy of two armed fugitives. On this episode of Long-Haul Crime Long, we tell the harrowing story of the Kingman Arizona State Prison break and the truckers who became hostages. Plus, the deadly business of fuel smuggling in Mexico.

Read the headlines at FreightWaves.com

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Subscribe on Spotify

More FreightWaves Podcasts

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long-Haul Crime Log, presented by FreightWaves, covers crime in trucking and supply chain. Take a trip to the dark side of the freight world with journalists Clarissa Hawes, Nate Tabak and Noi Mahoney.

On today’s episode, the chilling story of the Turnpike Phantom, the killer who preyed on sleeping truckers almost 70 years ago. Hawes explains why the unsolved killing of a trucker in Detroit still haunts her.  Plus, the latest crime headlines - and why train robberies are still a thing Mexico.

Read the headlines at FreightWaves.com

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Subscribe on Spotify

More FreightWaves Podcasts

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long-Haul Crime Log, presented by FreightWaves, covers crime in trucking and supply chain. Take a trip to the dark side of the freight world with journalists Clarissa Hawes, Nate Tabak and Noi Mahoney.

On today’s episode, the chilling story of the Turnpike Phantom, the killer who preyed on sleeping truckers almost 70 years ago. Hawes explains why the unsolved killing of a trucker in Detroit still haunts her.  Plus, the latest crime headlines - and why train robberies are still a thing Mexico.

Read the headlines at FreightWaves.com

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Subscribe on Spotify

More FreightWaves Podcasts

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices