Authorities are searching for a person who masqueraded as a shipment truck driver and allegedly stole more than $400,000 worth of lobster from a shipment that was destined for Costco locations in Illinois and Minnesota.

Dylan Rexing, the president and CEO of supply chain company Rexing Companies of Evansville, Indiana, said the processed lobsters had been loaded in Taunton, Massachusetts, but never reached their destinations.

The seafood was loaded at the Lineage Logistics facility in Taunton, WJAR reported.

“In this case, a fraudster or criminal was impersonating a real trucking company,” Chris Burroughs, president and CEO of the Transportation Intermediaries Association, told the television station.

“This theft wasn’t random,” Rexing said. “It followed a pattern we’re seeing more and more, where criminals impersonate legitimate carriers using spoofed emails and burner phones to hijack high-value freight while it’s in transit.”

The FBI is investigating the theft, but no arrests have been made. Rexing said that authorities noted a parallel between the lobster theft and a seafood shipment that was stolen from the same Massachusetts facility earlier this month.

Rexing said the thefts will drive up costs in the long run.

“For a mid-sized brokerage like ours, a $400,000 loss is significant,” Rexing said in a statement. “It forces tough decisions and ultimately drives up costs across the supply chain — costs consumers ultimately end up paying.”

“This is not an isolated case; it’s going on across the country,” Burroughs added. “I think the most recent estimates are about $30 to 50 billion a year annual cost to the supply chain.”

Costco did not immediately return a request for comment.

“Brokers are on the front lines of this problem, but we need federal agencies to have modern enforcement tools to keep pace with organized criminal networks,” Rexing said. “Until that happens, these thefts will continue to disrupt businesses and impact everyday prices.”

Burroughs said the scheme fraudsters employ is simple but effective.

“There was a dash in the email,” he said. “That was the only difference from the real company. The person came in, took off with the load, and who knows where it is now.”

Burroughs added that it was easier for thieves to target perishable items such as lobsters to make a profit.

“They want to target things that they can do quickly,” he said. “Re-enter into the economy. TVs have serial numbers ... lobsters obviously don’t so they’re harder to track.”

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