Trucking News · Nationwide · October 31, 2026

Scammers Reportedly Rent Out Trailers They Do Not Own on Facebook Marketplace After Spotting Them at Drop Yards, a Leasing Executive Warns Truckers

By Big Rig Daily Staff

A trailer leasing executive is warning truckers and carriers about a rental scam that starts with a real trailer sitting in a real yard. Craig Barth, chief financial officer of Premier Trailer Leasing, said in an interview with FreightWaves published Oct. 30 that bad actors are advertising trailers for rent that they do not own.

How he says the scheme works

According to Barth, the people behind it monitor drop yards and distribution centers for trailers that have been sitting idle for three to four days. They then advertise those same units, falsely, for rent on Facebook Marketplace.

The listings use AI-generated invoices and demand payment through Zelle or Venmo, FreightWaves reported. Barth said victims have lost between $700 and $1,000 per incident before authorities are notified.

His advice

Barth said Premier never accepts Zelle or Venmo payments. He urged anyone considering a trailer rental to call one of the company's 42 branch locations across 31 states to verify that a listing is legitimate before sending any money.

Why trailers are hard to find right now

The warning came in the middle of an interview about a hot trailer market. Barth said Premier's utilization is running as high as it ever has, even beating some of its peak utilization during the pandemic. He said the boom is driven by a shrinking supply of trailers, not a surge in freight volume.

Carriers running older equipment have been leaving the market, he said, leaving those that remain competing for newer trailers from leasing companies. He said customers originally wanted trailers 0 to 5 years old, and that group has been entirely absorbed. He also said trailer manufacturers have been building well below replacement volumes for the last three years.

One source

Everything in this story comes from one account, Barth's, in a FreightWaves interview. Big Rig Daily did not find a police report or a victim account, and the dollar figures are his. Facebook Marketplace is named because it is the platform he cited, not because anyone has accused it of wrongdoing.

Quick facts

• Who: Craig Barth, CFO of Premier Trailer Leasing, in a FreightWaves interview published Oct. 30, 2026.
• The scheme he describes: idle trailers spotted at drop yards or distribution centers, then falsely listed for rent on Facebook Marketplace.
• Payment: Zelle or Venmo, with AI-generated invoices.
• Reported losses: $700 to $1,000 per incident.
• Verification: call the leasing company's branch before sending money.

Big Rig Daily has also covered how cargo thieves use fake carriers and stolen MC numbers and how AI equipment is used in cargo theft deception.

A question for readers

Have you ever run across a fake trailer or truck listing, and what was the giveaway?

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