{"slug": "organised-thieves-steal-over-100m-in-ai-data-centre-equipment-using-gps-spoofing", "title": "Organised Thieves Steal Over $100M in AI Data Centre Equipment Using GPS Spoofing and Hacked Accounts", "summary": "Organised criminal networks have stolen more than $100 million worth of data centre equipment since June 2026, using hacked freight broker accounts, fake driver identities and GPS spoofing to intercept shipments bound for AI infrastructure buildouts, according to investigators cited by NBC News. Two incidents involved hardware worth a combined $23 million: a $13 million server shipment bound for Fayetteville, Georgia, and a roughly $10 million server rack component load headed from California to Texas, both diverted after vehicles struck their escorts and, in the second case, after tracking coordinates were spoofed. Verisk CargoNet head of operations Keith Lewis compared the thefts to stealing gold bars, and investigators believe stolen servers, memory chips and copper may be resold through grey markets, potentially to overseas buyers including in China, though individual shipment destinations have not been publicly established.", "body_md": "# Organised Thieves Steal Over $100M in AI Data Centre Equipment Using GPS Spoofing and Hacked Accounts\n\n## Thieves exploit compromised freight accounts to hijack legitimate shipments\n\nOrganised criminal networks have stolen more than $100 million worth of data centre equipment since June 2026, using hacked freight accounts, fake driver identities, and GPS spoofing to intercept high-value shipments as the artificial intelligence boom fuels demand for servers, computer chips, and other infrastructure.\n\nThe thefts highlight how criminals are using cyberattacks with physical highway heists to target equipment worth millions of dollars. Two major incidents involved shipments of computer hardware worth a combined $23 million.\n\nIn the first case, a trailer carrying hundreds of pounds of [computer server equipment](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/nvidia-plusai-trailers-stolen-sand-found-1822692) worth $13 million bound for Fayetteville, Georgia, disappeared after a car struck the vehicle escorting it. The collision forced the escorts, including off-duty police officers, to stop while the trailer continued towards an unknown destination.\n\nA similar incident involved a California shipment carrying server rack components valued at around $10 million and destined for Texas. Again, a vehicle struck the escort, allowing the trailer to escape.\n\nAlthough the second shipment was being monitored through a tracking application, investigators found that its location coordinates had apparently been spoofed, preventing the digital tracking system from accurately identifying where the cargo had gone.\n\nGerardo Pachuca, a private investigator and former Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department detective investigating cargo theft, told *NBC News* that the incidents appeared to involve deliberate attempts to disable the escorts.\n\n## How Thieves Exploit Hacked Accounts and Fake Identities\n\nThe operations extend beyond traditional truck hijackings, with criminals exploiting weaknesses in [freight companies' digital systems](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/microsoft-storm-0940-ai-attacks-connectwise-cloud-backup-1827903) and shipment verification procedures.\n\nAccording to investigators, thieves can reportedly compromise freight brokers' accounts through phishing schemes. They post fake shipments on online freight platforms to attract legitimate trucking companies, then send malicious links that can give them access to victims' accounts.\n\nOnce inside, criminals can use compromised accounts to bid on genuine shipments and arrange collections. Cargo may be picked up by unsuspecting drivers or accomplices using fake identities before being transferred to other vehicles for resale.\n\nThe equipment targeted includes servers, fibre-optic cables, computer memory chips, copper wiring, and Bitcoin mining machines. In Illinois, authorities identified stolen loads containing approximately $300,000 worth of copper wire and $1 million in custom-made modular power equipment designed for data centres.\n\n## Stolen AI Hardware Could Reach Overseas Buyers\n\nThe growing value of data centre equipment has made these shipments particularly attractive to organised criminals.\n\nKeith Lewis, head of operations at risk assessment firm Verisk CargoNet, compared the thefts to stealing gold bars, telling a media outlet that criminals are targeting the copper, server racks, and memory needed to build AI data centres.\n\nUnlike ordinary stolen consumer goods, high-end computing equipment may not be sold openly through online marketplaces. Investigators believe stolen components can instead enter grey markets, with overseas buyers potentially identified before a shipment is intercepted.\n\nSome experts suspect that equipment is being moved outside the United States, including to China, although the destinations of individual stolen shipments have not been publicly established.\n\n## Security Firms Face Growing Pressure\n\nThe incidents have prompted renewed calls for stronger driver background checks, improved shipment verification, and more robust tracking systems.\n\nScott Cornell, chair of the American chapter of the Transported Asset Protection Association, told *NBC News* that thorough checks on drivers could help prevent the crimes.\n\nAs investment in AI infrastructure expands, freight companies face mounting pressure to protect increasingly valuable shipments from criminals who can exploit both digital systems and potential gaps in physical security.\n\n© Copyright IBTimes 2026. All rights reserved.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/organised-thieves-steal-over-100m-in-ai-data-centre-equipment-using-gps-spoofing", "canonical_source": "https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/organised-crime-data-centre-equipment-thefts-ai-boom-1828056", "published_at": "2026-10-27 12:26:27+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-10-27 12:43:17.575407+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-infrastructure", "ai-chips"], "entities": ["NBC News", "Gerardo Pachuca", "Verisk CargoNet", "Keith Lewis", "Fayetteville, Georgia", "California", "Texas", "China"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/organised-thieves-steal-over-100m-in-ai-data-centre-equipment-using-gps-spoofing", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/organised-thieves-steal-over-100m-in-ai-data-centre-equipment-using-gps-spoofing.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/organised-thieves-steal-over-100m-in-ai-data-centre-equipment-using-gps-spoofing.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/organised-thieves-steal-over-100m-in-ai-data-centre-equipment-using-gps-spoofing.jsonld"}}