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Cargo crime ingress prevention

Trust keeps freight moving. Criminals exploit it.

Portcullis helps freight and logistics businesses prevent criminal infiltration through people, counterparties and commercial relationships.

Start Free Risk CheckExplore Certification

Initial Exposure Check takes around 5 minutes. No technical knowledge required.

Verify Certification

  • Know who you're dealing with.
  • Know what to look for.
  • Know what to do.

Portcullis Verify

ACTIVE

Portcullis Certified

PCS-GB-000000

CLUES check

AMBER

3 items require verification

Illustrative example

The problem

Cargo crime does not always begin at the warehouse door.

Organised crime groups look for a way in through the people and relationships a freight business relies on every day.

People

Staff are approached, pressured or paid to help.

  • Bribery
  • Coercion
  • Compromised employees
  • Information leakage

Counterparties

False businesses pose as customers, agents or suppliers.

  • False agents
  • Impersonated suppliers
  • Suspicious customers
  • Fraudulent relationships

Communications

Messages and instructions are faked or altered.

  • Cloned domains
  • Changed instructions
  • False identities
  • Social engineering

Portcullis helps businesses put controls around all three.

How Portcullis helps

A practical security system for freight businesses.

Five connected disciplines, applied together, cover how criminals get in and what happens when they try.

  1. Assess

    Understand your exposure.

    Initial Exposure Check, then evidence-based assessment.

  2. Educate

    Train your people.

    Recognise approaches, false counterparties and altered instructions.

  3. Verify

    Check who you're dealing with.

    CLUES checks before new business is accepted.

  4. Inform

    Stay aware of emerging threats.

    Concise alerts on changing methods, as Intelligence launches.

  5. Support

    Know what to do when something feels wrong.

    Clear routes to escalate and report concerns.

Why Portcullis

CLUES

Spot what doesn't add up before you commit.

CLUES is Portcullis's structured method for checking counterparties and shipments. Five questions, asked consistently, surface the inconsistencies that deserve a second look.

A consistent check gives teams a repeatable way to spot anomalies before accepting new business.

  1. Contact

    Is the person who they claim to be?

  2. Location

    Does the organisation operate where it says it does?

  3. URL

    Does the digital presence support the claimed identity?

  4. Email

    Does the communication channel genuinely belong to the organisation?

  5. Shipper / Shipment

    Does the proposed transaction make commercial sense?

CLUES check

Illustrative example — not a real company or assessment.

Counterparty

ABC Global Logistics

Result

AMBER

3 items require verification

  • Email: Email domain mismatchVerify
  • Contact: Contact not independently verifiedVerify
  • Shipper / Shipment: Urgent credit requestedVerify
  • Location: Registered address confirmedChecked
  • URL: Website consistent with company recordsChecked
CLUES identifies risk indicators and inconsistencies. It does not certify that a third party is legitimate, safe or free from criminal activity.
See How CLUES Works

Certification

Don't just say you take cargo security seriously. Demonstrate it.

Portcullis Certification is an evidence-based assessment against the Portcullis Standard. It gives customers, shippers and insurers a clear, checkable signal that defined controls are in place.

  • Evidence-based assessment

    Controls are assessed on evidence, not self-declaration.

  • Critical controls

    Certain controls must be met before a certificate is issued.

  • Corrective action

    Gaps are identified clearly, with time to put them right.

  • Annual certification

    Certificates are valid for 12 months, then renewed.

  • Public verification

    Anyone can check a certificate's current status online.

Sample certificate

Portcullis

This is to certify that

Your Company Ltd

has been assessed against the Portcullis Standard and is

Portcullis Certified

Scope: Freight forwarding and cargo agency operations

Certificate
PCS-GB-000000
Valid from
Issue date
Valid until
12 months from issue

Verify at cargoportcullis.com/verify

  1. 1

    Apply

    Confirm scope, sites and a named senior contact.

  2. 2

    Assess

    Evidence reviewed against the Portcullis Standard.

  3. 3

    Improve

    Corrective action on any non-conformities.

  4. 4

    Certify

    Certificate issued and listed on the public register.

  5. 5

    Maintain

    Controls kept in place and renewed every year.

Explore Certification

We'll explain the likely scope, evidence required and next steps before you commit.

Portcullis Certification demonstrates that an organisation has been assessed against defined Portcullis controls. Certification does not guarantee that an organisation will be free from crime, fraud, security incidents or criminal infiltration.

The Portcullis Standard

A clear standard for reducing criminal-ingress risk.

Nine domains describe the controls a freight business needs to recognise, resist and respond to criminal infiltration. Certification assesses evidence against each one.

The Standard defines the minimum controls a Portcullis Certified organisation must demonstrate and maintain.

Portcullis Standard — draft structure

  1. Governance & Accountability

    Senior leadership owns criminal-ingress risk, with named responsibilities and regular review.

  2. People & Recruitment

    People are recruited and onboarded with checks proportionate to the access they will hold.

  3. Insider Threat & Vulnerability

    The business recognises that staff can be targeted, and supports people before they are compromised.

  4. Counterparty Due Diligence

    Customers, agents and suppliers are checked before work begins and when circumstances change.

  5. Communications & Identity Verification

    Instructions are acted on only when the sender and channel have been verified.

  6. Bribery, Coercion & Criminal Approach

    Staff know how criminal approaches happen and are protected when they report them.

  7. Incident Reporting & Escalation

    Concerns are raised early, escalated quickly and reported to the right authorities.

  8. Training & Security Culture

    Everyone understands the risks relevant to their role and feels able to challenge.

  9. Intelligence & Continuous Improvement

    The business learns from incidents and emerging threats and improves its controls.

View the Standard

The full Standard, with control requirements and evidence guidance, will be published as a PDF.

Membership

More than certification.

Membership brings together the methods, knowledge and support a freight business needs between assessments.

  • CLUES

    Counterparty verification.

    Available

  • Portcullis Verify

    Public proof of certification.

    Available

  • Portcullis Intelligence

    Actionable threat alerts.

    In development

  • Portcullis Academy

    Staff awareness and training.

    Planned

  • Portcullis Assist

    Specialist security support.

    Planned

  • Security Toolkit

    Policies, checklists and procedures.

    Planned
See Membership Benefits

Member services are being introduced in stages. Each is marked with its current status.

For shippers and procurement

Strengthen security across your freight supply chain.

The Portcullis Advocate programme is for shippers, manufacturers and procurement teams that want to recognise Portcullis Certification and encourage it across their freight suppliers.

Advocate benefits

  • Verify suppliers
  • Encourage certification
  • Create consistent security expectations
  • Reduce repeated due diligence
  • Monitor supplier certification statusPlanned

Advocates use Portcullis as a consistent way to recognise or encourage stronger criminal-ingress controls across freight suppliers.

Become an AdvocateLearn About Supplier Assurance

Pricing

Straightforward annual pricing.

Membership gives access to Portcullis services. Certification is earned through assessment against the Standard. Both are priced by company size.

  • Micro

    1–10 employees

    Membership
    from £495/year
    Initial certification
    from £350

    Year 1 from £845 (membership plus initial certification)

  • Small

    11–25 employees

    Membership
    from £795/year
    Initial certification
    from £500

    Year 1 from £1,295 (membership plus initial certification)

  • SME

    26–50 employees

    Membership
    from £1,195/year
    Initial certification
    from £750

    Year 1 from £1,945 (membership plus initial certification)

  • Medium

    51–100 employees

    Membership
    from £1,795/year
    Initial certification
    from £1,100

    Year 1 from £2,895 (membership plus initial certification)

  • Large

    101–250 employees

    Membership
    from £2,750/year
    Initial certification
    from £1,750

    Year 1 from £4,500 (membership plus initial certification)

  • Enterprise

    251+ employees

    Scope, locations and pricing agreed individually.

    Talk to Portcullis

Pricing is indicative and may vary based on certification scope, locations and operational complexity. Prices exclude VAT.

Start Risk Check

How exposed is your business?

Complete the Initial Exposure Check and receive an immediate profile across five control areas.

Start Free Risk CheckTalk to Portcullis