Upfront deposit scam
An upfront deposit scam collects a large payment for a company you cannot match to an active federal record, then stops answering. A small booking fee, described in the contract and tied to a company you looked up, is not the same event.
Key facts
The sources are listed on this page.
The scam version is simple. The price is low. The company is new, or the name on the invoice does not match any active docket. You pay a large deposit by wire, app, or gift card. Pickup day comes with no truck and no refund. The phone is dead.
How a real fee is different
A booking fee can be small, charged by a company whose legal name and MC number you checked, and described in a cancellation clause you read first. You paid by card to that company. You can point to the sentence that says when it comes back. None of that makes every fee wise. It separates a contract term from a disappearance.
What to do
Look up the docket before you pay anything large. If the record is inactive, revoked, or a different company, do not pay. If you already paid and the company vanished, call your card issuer and the FMCSA complaint line on the auto-transporter advisory, 1-888-368-7238, weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. RideShipper cannot reverse another company's charge.