The Lobster Lesson: Don’t Move Assets Without Verification

Whether it is $400,000 in lobster or $4,000,000 in capital, the same lesson holds: verification is non‑negotiable. In the recent Massachusetts “lobster heist,” thieves allegedly impersonated a legitimate carrier, picked up a truckload of lobster bound for Costco, then disappeared with the shipment. Swap the trailer for a wire and the tactic looks exactly like business email compromise: a convincing impersonation, a high‑value transfer, and not enough verification before assets moved.

For investment firms, this story is a perfect, lighthearted way to drive home a serious point:

·       Verify who is asking: Confirm the identity of the “counterparty,” whether that is a freight company or an LP requesting a capital distribution.

·       Verify what is changing: Treat new instructions - new route, new account, new destination - as risky by default and require out‑of‑band confirmation.

·       Verify before you move: Centralized workflows, enforced callbacks, and clear approvals make it much harder for impostors to quietly walk off with trucks or wires.

The headline may be about missing shellfish, but the control gap is the same one that lets large wires slip away. Whether you are moving lobster or capital, only strong, enforced verification keeps your assets from “disappearing in transit.”

‍