Together, we can make the logistics industry safer

With fraud on the rise in our industry, shipping vehicles safely has never been more important. To help our shippers meet this challenging moment, we’ve taken major steps to make secure and confident shipping easier. But everyone has a role to play – while we’ve strengthened our tools and processes, it’s important that you also take steps to protect yourself.  

So be sure to read our best practices for staying safe and secure from listing to delivery, so you can use Central Dispatch with maximum confidence and security.

Secure Your Account

Sharing your sign-in details with others, even people who work for you, can expose you to fraud and unauthorized access. So, we highly recommend setting up User Management as soon as you activate your account with us.

This gives contractors, employees, or people outside your organization their own Central Dispatch login credentials and minimizes the risks of identity theft when sharing your own account credentials. You can also set guardrails on what business information they can view, helping you avoid potential account security risks.

Plus, with reinforced multi-factor authentication, every Central Dispatch account has an extra layer of protection from unauthorized access. Your mobile phone number is the preferred verification method, and the most secure.

Be sure to be cautious about who you add as a user, and always vet any third party companies or contractors before giving them an account under User Management.

• Learn more about setting up User Management
• Watch this security video 

Verify Your Carrier Before Dispatching 

Many cases of fraud can be avoided with a few important security checks before dispatching, and all of them can be done easily from the carrier’s Central Dispatch profile.  

Check their FMCSA details with our FMCSA checklist, which displays a carrier’s current USDOT#, MC# (if applicable), and more. Authorized and reputable carriers will have this information up-to-date.  

You can also view any available insurance documents they’ve uploaded to Central Dispatch. Consider contacting the provider and asking to be added as a certificate holder (COI), and conducting your own validation of their insurance outside the Central Dispatch platform.

• Learn more about our FMCSA checklist
• Watch this security video

Finally, view the carrier’s Transactional Ratings. There you’ll find detailed reviews for transactions they’ve completed on Central Dispatch, and get a clear idea of their behavior and reliability. If any suspicious business practices are called out in ratings, we highly recommend not partnering with them.

• Learn more about Transactional Ratings

Secure Communications During Transit

It’s best to keep as much communication as possible within our platform. Dispatching and communicating through private phone calls, emails, and texts exposes you to fraud. 

So, be sure to always dispatch vehicles using our fully electronic dispatch system. Assigning vehicles to carriers greatly reduces the risk of falling victim to fake texts and phone calls. Additionally, you may encourage your carrier partner to assign each load to a specific driver. This lets you verify the driver’s identity at pickup and gives you better visibility into your shipments. 

• Learn more about our dispatch experience

You can also encourage your carriers to use the Central Dispatch carrier mobile app and enable real-time tracking. This allows for maximum visibility and transparency into shipment location and status.

• Learn more about Real-Time Tracking

Get Documentation at Pickup

Before a carrier releases a vehicle to you, it’s important to confirm the delivery truck has an MC number that matches the dispatch sheet, and check their driver’s license against the assigned driver on the dispatch sheet (if assigned). 

After the delivery is complete, always rate and review your carrier partner honestly. It’s a great way for the Central Dispatch community to help each other avoid bad actors, reward honest carriers who do good work, and create a more transparent marketplace for everyone. You can also choose to publish your review later at a later date, so you can more confidently and honestly rate your partners.  

In the Event of Fraud

If you do fall victim to fraud on our platform, it’s critical to immediately contact the authorities and file a police report in the jurisdiction of the incident. Provide any information you can to local law enforcement, and also report the incident to the USDOT’s Inspector General, file a complaint with the FMCSA National Consumer Complaint Database, or contact the Federal Trade Commission.

• Contact the Federal Trade Commission: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov 

We also encourage you to report the incident to our new Marketplace Integrity Team. These are dedicated transportation experts who are here to take feedback from our customers and address security issues.

• Contact the Marketplace Integrity Team: CentralDispatchFraudClaims@coxautoinc.com

Steps We’re Taking To Help You Ship Safely 

Central Dispatch is making significant strides in addressing this challenge in our industry, and meaningfully reducing the level of fraud on our platform.  

We are constantly evolving our vetting process alongside the changing market landscape to ensure only legitimate companies gain access to our marketplace, and shippers can more confidently find partners. 

We’ve also formed the Marketplace Integrity Team that is dedicated to combating fraud and helping you stay secure. This team collaborates directly with Cox Security and other enterprise teams to investigate issues, deactivate fraudulent accounts, and proactively protect our customers. In 2025 alone, we have deactivated over 550 accounts due to suspicious activity, and will continue to take action where needed.

Recently, we’ve begun working with FMCSA and other industry leaders to lobby Congress, raise awareness, and push for stronger protections for automotive fraud at the highest level. 

We all play a part in building a safer, more secure marketplace for shipping vehicles. Let’s keep working together to protect our industry from fraud and ensure Central Dispatch remains a trusted platform for everyone.

Transactional ratings and reviews are a vital part of the Central Dispatch platform. They help everyone make better partnering decisions, reward top-performing businesses, and serve as a place to disclose issues that come up during a job. It’s important that you fully understand our ratings system, so you can leave reviews that are clear, fair, and accurate.

Because leaving more accurate ratings doesn’t just help others —  it helps you grow your business network and transact with new partners confidently!

About each rating category

• Overall: When evaluating your overall experience working with a partner, consider if you would do business with them again. Keep in mind the entire experience of the job, not just the outcome.
• Timeliness: Timeliness refers to meeting the contracted timing for pickup, delivery, and any other agreed checkpoints. If it was late, were there external delays that held up the shipment? Was it local or long-distance? How late was it?
• Communication: This rating measures how easy it was to get in touch with a partner, and how clear they made their instructions or expectations. Were they easy to work with? Were they quick to respond to questions? Were they professional?
• Documentation: Use the documentation rating to evaluate their handling of important paperwork like gate releases and invoicing. Were all documents made easily available? Was the paperwork ever sent late? Was it filled out completely and correctly?

The importance of leaving a written review

While rating across the different categories is important, it sometimes doesn’t tell the full story. Use the “Additional Comments” section to get into more details about working with a partner, and explain why you gave the ratings you did. 

This is the place to call out specific things you liked about working with a particular partner, which is extremely helpful for other businesses who might have similar needs or preferences as your own. 

So don’t be afraid to get detailed! And if you need to call out things that caused problems on a job, keep your tone and language constructive. All comments are reviewed to make sure our content guidelines are being followed.

Resolving disputes privately

Once posted, Central Dispatch ratings and reviews cannot be changed. So before leaving a negative rating or review, you’ll be prompted to reach out to the other party and resolve any disputes directly with them. Be sure to take advantage of this feature if you think any problems or misunderstandings can be solved privately.

NEW: Control when your review is published, and rate with confidence!

You can now choose when your review is published, giving you the confidence to share your experience. Selecting “Publish Later” means your review will only be publicly posted after your partner has also submitted their rating, or the 14-day review window passes, making it easier to provide honest feedback, and helping foster more transparent partnerships.

What if my review was rejected?

If your review is ever rejected, you can always resubmit within 45 days of the job’s completion. Just visit the “Rejected Ratings” tab on your business profile page to see exactly why your rating was rejected. You’ll also receive an email notification with a full list of our content guidelines and can access them when writing a comment.

Rating canceled transactions

If someone you’ve partnered with cancels a job for any reason, you can still give them one overall rating and write a review. Please note any specific issues related to the cancellation, and partner with more confidence, knowing you’ll be able to hold everyone accountable for every transaction on Central Dispatch.

For a step-by-step video guide on Transactional Ratings, click here!

×

At Central Dispatch, our biggest priority is your security. We’re continually working to ensure that our marketplace is the safest place to connect with the right partners to transport vehicles online, and part of that is making sure our shippers know how to identify and avoid any fraudulent accounts. 

As we continually work to vet carriers, ensure only shippers can post loads, and suspend users who do not abide by our terms, there are some easy steps you can take to avoid fraud and use our marketplace with complete confidence. 

Best practices for shippers:

Best practices for shippers: 

• Sharing your Central Dispatch log in information can lead to unauthorized access and security breaches. Eliminate risk and secure your account with the User Management system, which gives each person in your organization their own username and password. Select the right user type to control access to sensitive data. 
• Make sure your current email address and phone number are both linked to your owner account, so you can use our multi-factor login process. It’s the best way to protect against unverified logins. Your phone number is the preferred verification method. 
• To protect your security, all user accounts designated as Owners are locked and cannot be deleted or edited by any other user, including other Owners. Business owners can contact Client Care to make edits to Owner accounts. 
• Always use the Price Check tool to ensure you’re getting a fair market rate. 
• Always check a carrier’s FMCSA details, Transactional Ratings and insurance using the provided details listed in their profile before dispatching to a carrier. 
• For a quick look at every carrier’s latest authorization details, view their FMCSA Checklist, visible on every company profile. 
• Ask the carrier to send you a current copy of their certificate of insurance, and/or request to be added as a certificate holder. 
• Verify the carrier’s operating authority via the DOT SAFER system. Note: The DOT authority is applicable for in-state transportation where they are licensed.  
• Never dispatch interstate loads with carriers who don’t have valid MC Authority, as confirmed in the DOT SAFER database. 
• The auto-transport industry is facing an increase in fraud involving phone calls, emails, and texts. Always be cautious of outreach asking you for account or personal information or requesting that you access unknown links or files. Contact us to report any suspicious activity. 
• Always complete the dispatch process on the Central Dispatch platform. Transactions made over the phone or otherwise outside our platform create more uncertainty, and higher potential for conflicts between the two parties. Communicate within the Central Dispatch platform whenever possible to avoid conflicts and security risks.  
• Encourage all your carrying partners to use the Central Dispatch carriers mobile app, and enable the use of Real-Time Tracking. 
• At the end of each job, be sure to rate and review your carrier. It’s the easiest way for shippers to identify bad actors, and help other users avoid problems. Now, you can choose when your review is published – ensuring you provide honest feedback and contribute to a more transparent marketplace.

We welcome feedback from our users. Please reach out to us with any concerns or suggestions, so we can work to continually roll out new security features and policies that help make the Central Dispatch marketplace a safe place to operate for everyone. 

Shippers and carriers are responsible for determining what partners they want to do business with and validating any credentials. Central Dispatch is not a party to any agreements. 

At Central Dispatch, our biggest priority is your security. We’re continually working to ensure that our marketplace is the safest place to find loads online, and part of that is making sure carriers know how to keep their account secure and partner with shippers safely. 

As we continuously update our security features, ensure only shippers can post loads, and suspend users who do not abide by our terms, there are some easy steps you can take to conduct business on the Central Dispatch marketplace in complete confidence. 

Best practices for carriers:

Best practices for carriers: 

• Sharing your Central Dispatch log in information can lead to unauthorized access and security breaches. Eliminate risk and secure your account with the User Management system, which gives each person in your organization their own username and password. Select the right user type to control access to sensitive data.
• Make sure your current email address and phone number are both linked to your owner account, so you can use our multi-factor login process. It’s the best way to protect against unverified logins. Your phone number is the preferred verification method.
• To protect your security, all user accounts designated as Owners are locked and cannot be deleted or edited by any other user, including other Owners. Business owners can contact Client Care to make edits to Owner accounts.
• To ensure a safer, more secure platform, we make your FMCSA information visible on your company profile. Be sure to confirm that all your details are correct and up to date, so you can stand out as a verified carrier and strengthen your reputation.
• Always use the Price Check tool to ensure you’re getting a fair market rate.
• Always check the shipper’s Transactional Ratings to gauge how the company has performed on prior jobs and interacted with other carriers.
• Always complete the dispatch process on the Central Dispatch platform. Transactions made over the phone or otherwise outside our platform create more uncertainty, and higher potential for conflicts between the two parties.
• Keep communications with shippers within the Central Dispatch platform whenever possible to avoid conflicts and security risks.
• The auto-transport industry is facing an increase in fraud involving phone calls, emails, and texts. Always be cautious of outreach asking you for account or personal information or requesting that you access unknown links or files. Contact us to report any suspicious activity.
• Always verify that any text, call, or email communication sent to you is from the assigned shipper before following any new delivery instructions.
• Download the Central Dispatch carriers mobile app and have your drivers enable Real-Time Tracking to foster more transparency with shipping partners, and stand out as a trusted carrier.
• At the end of each job, be sure to rate and review your shipper. It’s the easiest way for carriers to identify bad actors, and help other users avoid problems. Now, you can choose when your review is published – ensuring you provide honest feedback and contribute to a more transparent marketplace.

We welcome feedback from our users. Please reach out to us with any concerns or suggestions, so we can work to continually roll out new security features and policies that help make the Central Dispatch marketplace a safe place to operate for everyone. 

Shippers and carriers are responsible for determining what partners they want to do business with and validating any credentials. Central Dispatch is not a party to any agreements.