The Gas Station "Pump Switching" Scam

Yahoo reports on "Watch Out for This Gas Station Scam: ‘Pump Switching’ and How To Avoid It." This is another scam that relies on targeting high-trust individuals. 

    This newest scam targets people using credit cards to pay at the pump. The scammers have been approaching unsuspecting victims at the gas pump to offer to pump their gas for them or put the nozzle back to complete the transaction. Then, instead of putting the nozzle back on the gas pump to close the transaction, the scammer will continue by pumping the gas into their vehicle.

    In some cases, the scammers have also offered to hang the nozzle and then left it active as they proceeded to pump gas for the next customer. In this scenario, the still-active nozzle is used to pump gas for a new customer, where the scammer will request cash for the transaction.

    So let’s say that you want $50 worth of gas for your car. The scammer will offer to hang the nozzle for you, and then they may add another $50 worth of gas into their vehicle or the next customer’s, leaving you with a $100 credit card transaction. You may not realize that you were a victim of this scam until you check your credit card balance to find out that your transaction was double the cost.

    These scam artists look for victims at the gas station who may be good-natured or appear to be physically weak to offer to pump their gas or to hang the nozzle for them. In some reports, the scammers have been aggressive with the interaction. Some of the suspects have aggressively taken the nozzles from the victims’ hands after they were denied their offer of assistance.

Be careful out there.