Some bold thieves in the United States have turned to a deceptive rouse to steal masses of cargo.

The gangster movie cliché of hijacking whole trucks full of cigarettes and fur coats is still alive, but has evolved a more subtle approach.

In a wave of crime known as ‘commercial identity theft’, thieves are posing as employees of trucking firms, scamming their way into ports and loading areas and hauling stolen loads away with their own semi-trailers.

Thieves have been pushed to the complicated scam by the ever-increasing security measures that protect valuable cargo. Instead of just breaking a window and looking behind the sun-visor, anyone wanting to steal a truck must contend with high-tech locks, GPS security and other anti-theft measures.

Police reports from the US say the big-rig scammers are looking to the internet for details on shipments and the trucking companies. The con-men use online databases to assume the identity of legitimate freight haulers and even target the specific commodities they most desire. Some have gone as far as re-activating dormant trucking registrations to appear as though they are from a legitimate operator, and even carry a solid safety record.

The toll is already in the millions, with reports showing just a few of the bigger scores including; 36.2 tonnes of walnuts worth $310,000 in California, $207,000 of cheese in Wisconsin, rib-eye steaks valued at $84,000 in Texas, and 11.3 tonnes of king crab worth $414,000 in California.

The Hughson Nut Co has fallen victim twice in a year. Both times impostors have arrived at the California-based nut processor holding with all the proper paperwork to pick up over $190,000 worth of almonds.

The companies affected often do not come forward willingly, fearing they might look like they do not have a handle on security.

There are big risks from shipments falling into untrained hands. Apart from the lost revenue; if a shipment of chicken, for example, was stolen it could easily turn bad if it was not stored correctly and then returned to the supply chain.

Some logistics firms are looking to eye or thumb-scanners and other next-level security measures to fight back against the growing wave of load-jacking.

One supply chain security investigation group in California said it identified 45 fictitious pickups from 947 cargo thefts last year, and the group estimates that figure will have doubled by the end of this year.