Truck thieves spoof GPS to steal over $100 million in data center gear
Investigators say criminals use hacked accounts and digital tricks to intercept high-value cargo bound for AI facilities.
By Jonathan Ramirez ·
Highway thieves have stolen more than $100 million in data center freight since June, according to industry leaders and investigators speaking to NBC News. The cargo includes servers, fiber-optic cables, computer memory chips, copper wires, and bitcoin mining machines. The thefts are part of a sophisticated digital campaign that complicates traditional law enforcement responses.
The scheme begins when thieves hack accounts on freight broker websites. They post fake shipments to lure trucking companies into bidding. Once a company clicks a malicious link, the thieves install software to take control of the account. From there, they bid on real shipments using the compromised credentials.
To collect the goods, the thieves sometimes hire a real delivery driver who does not know about the scam. Other times, they use fake driver’s licenses to get accomplices hired. The goods are eventually transferred to a driver working with the thieves to resell the equipment. In one of the largest thefts, tracking coordinates were spoofed to prevent digital monitoring from detecting the cargo's location.
Investigators have found stolen trailers containing only data center equipment. The Cook County Sheriff’s Office estimated that two such shipments found in Illinois contained $300,000 worth of copper wire spools and about $1 million in custom-made data center modular power solutions. These specific losses highlight the high value of the targeted components.
Other affected trucks carried mixed loads. In a case handled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, data center cooling equipment bound for Deepcool AI was recovered alongside nicotine pouches, televisions, shoes, printers, speakers, and skin care cosmetics. This mix suggests the thefts may impact consumers and businesses beyond the AI industry, as stolen goods are often resold into general markets.
While some goods have been recovered, none were found in two of the largest thefts identified by NBC News. In those incidents, off-duty police officers hired to escort the shipments were targeted in hit-and-run accidents. The targeting of escorts indicates a higher level of coordination and risk by the criminal groups involved.
The reliance on digital spoofing and account hacking makes these thefts difficult to track. Investigators note that the methods allow thieves to operate with minimal physical contact until the final handoff. The loss of millions in specialized hardware creates a gap in the supply chain for new data center projects.
