Beware of this gas station scam that is wreaking havoc in France

© Wassim Chouak – Unsplash

Manipulation, violence, tampered terminals… Scams at the pump can affect every motorist, and no one is safe. In a recent article, the local public media Ici (formerly France Bleu) reviewed these risks to be aware of. This is an opportunity for us to present these scams that you may encounter on a daily basis.

How it works ?

So it all starts at the gas station (this only concerns automatic cash registers where there is no staff nearby) where one or more individuals accost you. They say they have forgotten their bank card and offer to help them out with a few liters in exchange for a note. 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 a pure and simple ploy to abuse your generosity. The scammer will hand you a note, but it is fake. You lose out on all counts in this operation.

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According to our colleague, sometimes the 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 in order to surround you. The idea is to allow him to fill up without you being able to intervene and without obtaining any 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 advisable to be extra vigilant. Refuse to comply with suspicious approaches. You should also check your bank accounts regularly to check for suspicious activity.

Other variations of these scams

This is unfortunately not the first time that this type of pump scam has been mentioned in the news. In 2023, for example, we told you about this unfortunate motorist who was the victim of a well-established scam. While he was filling up, 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 came back with a huge can. “When I wanted to put in the few liters requested, the woman grabbed the pump nozzle and held it firmly so that a large quantity of fuel poured out”, he confided to Actu Toulouse. More information about his misadventure in our previous article here.

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