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How to Spot an Auto Transport Scam Before You Pay a Deposit
Fake companies clone real brand names, real DOT numbers and real review pages. Six checks that take five minutes and rule out almost all of them.
May 12, 2026 · 6 min read
Ready to ship your car?
Get a no-obligation quote from River Valley Auto Transport. Owner-operated, U.S.-based, and licensed with the FMCSA.
Verify before you book
Two minutes on the FMCSA website tells you who you're really dealing with
You do not have to take any company's word for it. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration keeps free public records on every licensed broker and carrier in the country. Here is exactly what to ask for and where to verify it:
1.Ask for the MC and USDOT numbers
Every legitimate broker and carrier must provide both on request. Our numbers: USDOT #2273104 and MC #774106. If a company hesitates or deflects, stop.
2.Look them up on the FMCSA SAFER system
Go to safer.fmcsa.dot.gov and use the Company Snapshot search. Enter the MC or USDOT number and confirm the legal name, operating status and “Authorized” broker or carrier authority match what you were told.
3.Confirm the $75,000 broker bond
In the FMCSA Licensing & Insurance portal (li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov), verify the broker's BMC-84 bond or BMC-85 trust fund is active. No active bond means no legal authority to broker your shipment.
4.Demand the carrier's information and payment breakdown
If a company says they have a carrier for you but never sends you the carrier's name, DOT/MC number, driver contact and truck details, or you never get to see how much of your payment is going to the carrier, that is a red flag. A legitimate broker discloses the assigned carrier and explains the broker fee before you book.
When you check our records you'll find River Valley Auto Transport, USDOT #2273104, MC #774106; an owner-operated, federally licensed and bonded broker based in Rosemount, Minnesota, working by phone and email with no walk-in office. You can also read our full carrier vetting process.
The pattern is always the same
A quote arrives well below every other offer. There is urgency - the truck is in your area today, the rate expires tonight. Payment is requested by wire, gift card, cryptocurrency or a peer-to-peer app. After the deposit clears, the phone number stops answering, or the price triples.
Six checks that take five minutes
Every legitimate broker and carrier is registered and verifiable. Run these before any money moves.
- Look up the MC and USDOT number in the FMCSA licensing database and confirm the legal name matches the company contacting you.
- Confirm the phone number and email domain match the ones published on the company's own website.
- Refuse wire transfers, gift cards, crypto and peer-to-peer payment apps - legitimate companies take cards.
- Check the state business registry for the company's registered entity.
- Get the quote and the terms in writing, including when the deposit is charged.
- Be suspicious of a quote far below every other bid; it is usually the setup for a later increase.
Impersonation of real companies
Increasingly the scam is not a fake company but a fake version of a real one - same name, similar domain, spoofed caller ID, copied reviews. Verify the contact details independently from the company's own site rather than trusting the ones in the email you received.
Our only phone number is (239) 273-4649 and our only email is support@enterpriseautotransport.com. Anything else using our name is not us.
Key takeaways
- Verify MC and USDOT numbers against FMCSA before paying anything.
- Never pay by wire, crypto, gift card or peer-to-peer app.
- Confirm contact details from the company's own site, not the inbound message.
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