As competition drove prices lower and decreased what were already slim profit margins, "rogue" movers began hijacking personal property as part of a new scam.
The scam movers know that most people will be forced to pay these exorbitant rates based on their need for the personal effects.
The interstate moving business in America is regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), part of the United States Department of Transportation.
[3] Only a small staff (fewer than 20 people) is available to patrol hundreds of moving companies, making enforcement difficult.
Furthermore, in the United States, there are in most cases no regulations that clearly qualify moving companies as "reliable", and thus such scams are relatively common.