Manipulation, violence, tampered with terminals… Pump scams can affect every motorist, and no one is safe. In a recent article, the local public media Here (formerly France Blue) returned to these risks to be aware of. The opportunity for us to present to you these scams that you risk being confronted with on a daily basis.
How does it work?
Everything starts at the gas station (this only concerns automatic cash registers where there are no staff nearby) where one or more individuals approach you. They say they forgot their bank card and offer to help them out with a few liters in exchange for a ticket. In theory, everything is simple and it may even happen that you come across people in good faith who have really forgotten their credit card.
Unfortunately, most of the time this is an outright ploy to abuse your generosity. The scammer will hand you a ticket, but it is fake. You are a total loser in this operation.
According to our colleague, it sometimes happens that criminals opt for a more muscular approach. Once the gun is in the tank, this malicious individual can become threatening and accomplices could arrive near you to surround you. The idea is to allow it to refuel without you being able to intervene and without obtaining the slightest reward.
Finally, in some cases, these unscrupulous actors go so far as to tamper with payment terminals. When you swipe your bank card, they are able to retrieve your banking information to take action later.
Faced with such maneuvers, it is therefore necessary to be extra vigilant. Refuse to comply with suspicious approaches. You should also check your bank accounts regularly to check for questionable activity.
Other variations of these scams
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that this type of pump scam has been mentioned in the news. In 2023, we spoke to you, for example, about this unfortunate motorist who was the victim of a well-established scam. While he was refueling, a couple who said they had run out of gas called him for help. Surprised, he accepted their request and gave them a few liters of diesel.
The duo then returned with a huge container. “When I wanted to add the few liters requested, the woman grabbed the pump gun and held it firmly so that a large quantity of fuel poured out”he then confided to Toulouse News. More information on his misadventure in our previous article here.
