Man refuels for free for months
An American man managed to fill up for free for months. In total, he appropriated some 40,000 euros worth of fuel. Eventually, however, he was caught and charged.
The 19-year-old California state resident remarkably visited the same Chevron petrol station each time. He did this twice a week for months and so, with the help of several large plastic barrels, he managed to fill up for around 2,000 euros each week without paying a single cent for it. By the time he was caught, the tally stood at $42,000 – roughly 40,000 euros converted, Carscoops.com reports.
Difference noticed
According to the San Diego County sheriff, the method used amounts to credit card fraud. Using an unspecified trick, the credit card manipulated the pumps so that they were in use but did not charge a fee for it. It took Chevron’s IT department a while to see a clear difference between the amounts of fuel ‘sold’ and the revenue that was being received in return.
Police called
Only when the gas station employees discovered that the unauthorised transactions coincided one-to-one with visits by an unknown man in the same vehicle each time, did the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. When he arrived again, the police were called and they arrested him as he was filling several large drums in his car with fuel, just like many times before, without any intention to settle. The man was obviously arrested and will have to answer for his actions in court later.
