Not ok to take load from a scammer. At least check out who you are doing business with first before incurring costs and then blaming everyone. who is to blame? a trucking company taking a load from a scammer and not checking into who they are working in advance, or the shipper giving a load to a scammer who is just going to broker it to someone legit who doesn't care who they get a load from?
No carrier willingly takes a load from a scammer. They take a load from some unknown entity usually because of desperation - their truck is empty, and their driver needs to move. The process of matching a load and truck now a days is actually a joke. Nobody has load information other than origin city and destination city. All the other pertinent information to make a decision is woefully inadequate and left out of the conversation, sometimes I wonder if it's on purpose. I had one of my dispatchers put a conversation on the speaker phone - this is how it went:
Carrer: Hi, I'm calling about your load - Atlanta to Mississauga for today. I have a truck (gets cut off)
Broker: What's your rate? (notice, no hi, what's your name, how are you..)
Carrier: What are the expectations?
Broker: Atlanta to Mississauga for today - what's your rate?
Carrier: Do you have any other information?
Broker: Truckload, 44000 lbs. Whats your rate? If you don't have a rate I have other calls to take.
Carrier: OK, how does $1200 sound?
Broker: I'll call you back if I get the load - click. (doesn't get a name, carrier, phone number - nothing.)
Now after you do this dozens of times for one truck a dispatcher starts to get frustrated. This happens with each post that a dispatcher is lucky enough to get a hold of someone. There is no time for vetting or identifying if the guy is a scammer - the dispatcher is just happy if he can book a load.
The onus is on the shipper or the original person paying the freight to ensure that they are utilizing a reputable organization broker. If they are just going to take the lowest cost provider and give them the full control they will experience headaches in this market just the same as the actual carrier who is getting burned by the scammer.