Tive: revolutionizing fraud prevention through real-time visibility

Recognized as a winner of the 2025 FreightWaves Fraud Fighter Awards, Tive has established itself as a leader in combating freight fraud through advanced supply chain visibility solutions. The company’s approach centers on a critical factor that they identify as the greatest threat in freight fraud today: awareness.

“In a word, awareness,” explained Tive. “Awareness of who you are doing business with and who is moving your freight. Awareness of where your freight is located while in transit. Awareness of the condition of freight while it’s in transit. And awareness of when and where container doors are being opened. Without awareness of the comings and goings of your cargo, you are merely guessing—and can only fix problems after they occur.”

Tive’s fraud prevention strategies have evolved significantly over time, beginning with real-time shipment location tracking before expanding to include comprehensive conditions data such as light, temperature, humidity, tilt, and shock. The company later introduced custom geofencing for location-based alerting and logic for alerts when cargo experiences prolonged stops. Their most recent innovation, Tive Security Seals, represents a significant advancement in cargo protection.

These tamper-evident cable locks utilize Bluetooth technology to secure containers and trailers through real-time threat detection and instant location alerts. Additionally, Tive is implementing machine learning for multi-sensor alerts, further enhancing their security capabilities.

When asked about the most significant technological change in combatting fraud, Tive points to “enhanced tracking via IOT devices—coupled with enhanced and improved carrier vetting.” Their industry-leading Solo 5G trackers use the latest global cellular, WiFi, and GPS technology to report real-time, rich sensor data to the Tive platform, providing complete visibility into shipments and sending alerts when issues arise.

Tive emphasizes that successful fraud prevention requires a comprehensive approach. “A multi-layered approach is best. Carrier vetting is helpful, but if that’s all that is done, you will still have weaknesses. The same can be said for using only IOT trackers. They work well and are essential—but without carrier vetting and strong SOPs, there will still be weaknesses in the overall solution.”

The effectiveness of Tive’s solutions is best illustrated through real-world success stories. Potomac Metals Inc. (PMI), a privately-held scrap metal recycling company founded in 1996, experienced the recovery of a stolen shipment worth $175,000 thanks to Tive’s technology. In mid-October 2024, PMI was able to monitor a stolen full shipment of copper as it traveled 400 miles past its intended destination, leading to the complete recovery of the load within hours.

“We would be totally out of luck without Tive,” says Sarah Zwilsky, President of PMI. The company initially planned to use Tive only for their highest-value item—copper wire—but quickly expanded its use to their five most expensive products after seeing the benefits. “Tive has a great ROI. At PMI, we track really valuable products. If a load doesn’t get to its delivery location, we’re held in limbo waiting for it to arrive—and before Tive, we didn’t know where shipments were. Tive has really legitimized our business.”

Similarly, Vianney, a Mexico-based retailer, successfully recovered almost all merchandise involved in a theft in February 2024. The cargo had been stolen on one of the routes with the highest theft rates and ended up at a Vianney customer site. “Armed with a search warrant, we conducted a raid on that Vianney customer—and never worked with them again,” stated the Head of Asset Security. “It’s one thing to think you know where your merchandise is, but with Tive, we have total certainty. This has helped us a lot because our sales team can tell our clients: ‘When you work with Vianney, everything is done legally.’”

Another compelling example comes from Dulces de la Rosa, a Mexico-based candy company that faced a cargo theft incident near Mexico City in 2024. According to their head of security, “Once we realized the truck had been taken, we were able to watch our shipment move through the city within the Tive platform.” This visibility enabled them to direct police to the exact location, resulting in the recovery of all stolen goods. “Tive is our backup plan in case something happens. When a Tive tracker has been on a shipment in which something has gone wrong, we have achieved at least a partial recovery.”

Looking toward the future, Tive believes that evolving technology will strengthen business relationships, with these improved connections preventing much potential fraud. When asked what the industry can do to better combat fraud, Tive emphasizes communication: “Only when the good guys are working together and sharing information about what is happening, what is working, and what isn’t working will the industry start to thwart thieves in their tracks.”

Tive’s strategic approach draws inspiration from beyond the freight industry. “As Sun Tzu once said, ‘Strategy without tactics is the slowest way to victory, and tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat’. At Tive, we feel as though many companies are deploying fraud prevention tactics without first building an overarching strategy—like a game of whack-a-mole. Building a detailed and comprehensive strategy first—and then finding the tech and tactics that best support it—is the most successful path forward.”

For companies looking to train their employees on fraud prevention, Tive recommends seeking assistance from expert organizations. “There are organizations full of experts that want to help. TAPA is an example of one of these organizations—and they have standards that can be used for training and best practices.”

Through its innovative approach to supply chain visibility and security, Tive continues to lead the fight against freight fraud, providing companies with the tools and strategies needed to protect their valuable shipments in an increasingly complex global logistics environment.

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