Fraudulent Marketing for KYU Annual Permits Circulating

Watch out for a false email advertising Annual Permits for Kentucky

We have recently seen an email circulating to some of our clients marketing Kentucky Annual Permits. This email states that a KYU number is necessary for any vehicle that is 59,000lbs or heavier.

Does Kentucky require an annual permit for commercial drivers? 

This is false as Kentucky does not require an annual permit.

Save yourself some cash and dump this email in the trash if you see it.

The only permits that are required are for oversize/overweight loads (at 160,000lbs or heavier, BIG difference!)

The email is tricky, as it states that no stickers are issued, that only a number is issued, and it’s voluntary to display on the exterior of your vehicle. The email then states that if you travel through Kentucky with out this permit, you can be put out of service and fined, if caught.

Remember, when you get marketing emails like this you can confirm them using 1 of 2 ways:

  • Check government websites. Depending on what they are trying to market, you can check the FMCSA, DOT, or Transport Canada websites for federal (country wide) permits/licensing requirements. Or, for provincial or state permits and requirements, check that particular state/province’s government’s official website. They will all have pages covering Commercial Vehicle or Motor Carriers.
  • Check with a transportation consultant firm like us. It is our job to stay on top of the latest permits required for you to stay compliant.

This is not the only time we have seen fraudulent or misleading marketing like this. If you want to see some other examples you can check these other blog posts that we have done up to warn carriers and drivers.

Be sure to check the above links out as they will give you some examples of past scams so you will hopefully be able to easily spot other similar scams (since they are unlikely to go away).

Tips for identifying scam emails

  • Check the incoming address. Does it seem correct? Careful, because scammers will often choose ones similar to government agencies, but just off a bit. You can also check links. Do this by hovering your mouse over the link and the outgoing address should become visible somewhere on your screen. Do the link address’ seem right?
  • Look for bad spelling and grammar. This can often clue the reader in that something might be amiss.
  • If they are looking for money, or seem scary (fines are threatened) I would do a quick internet search, and check credible sites (usually government sites as mentioned above) to see if this is accurate.

The most common scams target:

  • Drug and Alcohol Supervisor training
  • General FMCSA regulatory and compliance support
  • Unified Carrier Registration Compliance
  • Biennial Update or Unified Registration System compliance
  • A caller or written solicitation has a name very similar to USDOT/FMCSA but is not, in fact, a U.S. government agency.
  • A caller conveys urgency for a carrier to provide credit card or other payment information immediately by telephone or suffer immediate consequences. FMCSA officials and representatives do not ask for credit card numbers by telephone.
  • A caller or solicitation states they are “endorsed” by FMCSA. U.S. government agencies do not endorse any businesses or third-party service providers. Motor carrier third-party service providers often provide valuable services but are NOT required by FMCSA. FMCSA provides support free of charge.
  • Vague responses from a caller when asked if they are an employee or authorized representative of FMCSA.

Be sure to spread the word, as no one likes to be taken advantage of. Remember we are all in this together!