If you are a truck business owner, then you might be at the risk of losing your hard-earned money to scammers. It’s 2020 already, technology is evolving by leaps and bounds, and scammers are more powerful than ever. Often coming from modest education backgrounds and even lesser technologically informed communities, truck owners usually end up becoming soft targets of scammers and burglars.
From fake transporters, auto thieves to impersonators, there are plenty of scammers out there preying on the innocent and unaware truck owners. But truck owners are fighting back & safeguarding their
business with the use of technology. Innovation in the field of sensors and software is paving a way for the golden era of transportation in India. Many startups are working on solving various problems that a fleet owner may have, thus delivering the impact of the innovative developments in technology to the fleet owner. WheelsEye is one such young startup from Gurgaon that is already helping lakhs of truck fleet owners adopt technology, drive profitability and secure business interests.
About a recent incident, Buland Singh, a truck owner from Gurugram explains how he was duped of 15,000 rupees by a person claiming to be a transporter. The impersonator approached him via a Facebook group of transporters and fleet owners. Such groups are a common sight and every fleet owner is usually a part of at least 8-10 such groups. The scammers pose as a potential broker or a transporter and offer an attractive rate for ferrying goods. The deal happens on Facebook / remotely. Truck owner is simply trying to conform to the new normal, but when the truck reaches the loading destination, the driver is looted of cash and fuel. In a more common occurrence like the one that happened with Buland Singh, truck owners never get paid the balance 10% amount and the impersonator simply vanishes.
This happened because, for Buland Singh, there was no way to ascertain if the person is fake or real. Fragmentation of the market plays a crucial role in catalyzing such frauds. Very few transportation
companies or fleet owners are properly drafted entities. Fewer use official email IDs and proper working addresses. Majority work management is usually happening via generic email IDs or Whatsapp, working from remote locations. Technology-enabled truck startups are driving defragmentation and organization of truck supply chain dynamics by building real-time aggregation visibility. Many family-owned transportation companies are also investing in technology to be able to connect with fleet owners with utmost transparency and deliverance.
Interestingly, technology is also enabling truck owners in the most unexpected places. Sanjeev Kumar, a WheelsEye sales representative in Himachal Pradesh explains about how technology is helping truckers
in remote areas of Himachal Pradesh. “Usually mountain people in India are still living with 2G and small keypad phones. But when it comes to truck owners, they are utilizing technology much like their counterparts in big cities.” Explains Sanjeev
He continues “At first when I started working in this territory, I thought it would be very hard to convince truck owners to buy truck management technology. But simply by focusing on truck safety, anti-theft technology and secure digital payments, I have been able to generate sales conversions comparable to Metro Cities. The market response shows a clear need for enabling truck owners.”
“WheelsEye has transformed GPS technology. By integrating an ecosystem of technology services alongside GPS, truck owners are no longer limited to just tracking the truck location. With almost real-time visibility of business operations, truck owners can make informed and immediate decisions. They can also plan for their business goals and chase them with transparency and audacity. And most importantly it also runs on 2G, letting the smallest truckers in the farthest places grow” Explains Mohit Saini, a senior sales officer responsible for the Northern States.
In a separate incident, Gaurav Trivedi, a truck owner based in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, was able to recover his stolen truck in just 60 mins with the help of WheelsEye. He noticed suspicious activity on
his WheelsEye app and quickly contacted the truck driver. It was then that he came to know that the truck had been stolen. Apparently, his truck driver was approached by an imposter in Ratahara, Rewa. The imposter claimed that the truck owner, Gaurav, had instructed him that the truck was needed for urgent delivery. Faithful to his employer, the gullible driver gave him the keys.
Ultimately, after contacting the driver, it became clear to Gaurav that the truck was stolen. So, he turned the truck’s ignition off from his WheelsEye app and informed the nearest police station. He
gave them the exact coordinates in Ratahara. Eventually, the thief was caught and the truck recovered. Gaurav Trivedi, at last, breathed a sigh of relief. Like Gaurav, countless truck owners have foiled truck thefts and recovered stolen trucks with the help of technology apps like WheelsEYe
Speaking on the adoption and importance of secure digital payments in the trucking industry, Sonesh Jain, a spokesperson from WheelsEye shared that “In the past, we have seen multiple scattered instances
of coordinated attacks to scam our customers by impersonating as WheelsEye and asking for money. Thanks to the robust systems, we rapidly acted upon it and plugged the vulnerabilities immediately. This helped us create more trust with customers. Now every time a truck owner spends money for purchase on WheelsEye app, he feels more convinced, and ultimately happy about it.”
Scammers will keep trying irrespective of the service provider a truck owner is working with. On the pretext of sugary talk, they will try to scam business and individuals into transferring money online,
but with greater adoption of technology, and deeper utilization of innovative developments in telematics and truck management, truck owners are now more enabled than ever. With the help of startups like WheelsEye, they are securing and growing their business.