The gas stations have become in recent years the perfect setting for criminals carry out their scamswhether in Spain or in other countries. In recent years, the authorities have been responsible for alerting drivers of the different frauds to which they are exposed. However, more and more innovations or new strategies that these devise to steal money. In this sense, a new threat dubbed the five euro scam.
This fraud adds to an already long list of scams related to service stations, such as the tow truck scam or manipulations at the fuel pumps. Although this has been detected in Franceit is very possible that it will spread quickly to our country, especially to those gas stations where payments are only made by bank card.
What is the five euro scam?
The five euro scam is not very difficult, but it is very effective. The criminal positions himself near a gasoline pump, preferably in gas stations that operate 24 hours and where it is mandatory to pay by card. He waits patiently for a victim to arrive, someone who is refueling his vehicle. Then, the scammer approaches the person and asks for a favor: He explains that he does not have a bank card and that his gas tank is empty. To convince the victim, He offers a five-euro bill in exchange for the driver giving him fuel.
What seems like a harmless request and small favor soon turns into a bigger problem for the driver. Once the victim agrees, the criminal can pressure you to add much more fuel than you promised. In many cases, victims are forced to fill the scammer’s entire tank, and even other vehicles, under threats or, in extreme cases, through the use of force. What at first seems like a favor of five euros can end up costing a considerable sum of money.
How to avoid this scam: a crime that is very difficult to correct
The most obvious advice to prevent this scam is to reject any strange request at a gas station. The safest thing is not to accept the offer even if the person may seem harmless. A possible safe gesture is memorize the license plate of the vehicle involved and in case of strong suspicion, quickly contact the police.
Avoid service stations without people and especially at night It is another piece of advice that the authorities rely on. Those gas stations that have self-service payment They tend to be less monitored, a perfect scenario for criminals.
This environment and the nature of the driver scam makes catching criminals difficult. extremely difficult for the police. In many cases, scammers use stolen vehicles or fake license plateswhich allows them to evade identification by video surveillance cameras installed at gas stations. Furthermore, since payments are made by card and there is no significant cash exchange, The financial trail of these crimes is minimal.
