Truffa

Free petrol, with this illegal trick a woman stole more than 20,000 liters

An American woman has been arrested on charges of stealing a huge quantity of petrol by exploiting a bug in a petrol station's software.
A real scam that has now been discovered.
The woman had devised a working method by taking advantage of fuel cards that promise a reward for every refueling made.
Here's how.
So this woman stole over 20,000 liters of gasoline.
In the United States it is not unusual for people to have specific fuel cards that participate in rewards initiatives that reimburse a certain number of cents for each liter of gasoline purchased by a consumer.
A 45-year-old woman from Lincoln, Nebraska, managed to defraud a gas station using these very cards.
The woman discovered a bug in the Pump and Pantry gas station software.
Following an update in November 2022, the distributors allowed the woman to refuel for free by swiping her fuel bonus card through the machine's reader twice in a row.
In this way, from November 2022 to June 2023, the woman managed to illegally use the card 510 times, stocking up on 28,000 liters and saving something like around 27,000 dollars.
Not only her, because having understood the mystery, the woman gave another person the opportunity to use her card on loan and stock up while saving in exchange for 500 dollars.
It is unclear whether the woman understood that the ruse was illegal.
The fact is that on June 1, 2023, the company that manages the service stations noticed the bug and immediately updated the software, preventing the woman from continuing with the scam.
At that point the woman, seeing that the card no longer worked, sold it to a man on the same day as the update.
Once the scam was reported, it was not easy for the authorities to trace the woman.
Although it was possible to trace the card, it was found to be in the possession of a man who later died shortly after purchase.
In the end, by viewing the surveillance cameras, and after long investigations that ended only in March 2024, it was possible to trace the woman who was arrested for fraud.
The woman will be heard in court for the first time on April 11 and is at great risk due to stringent American laws.
What are bonus cards? Bonus cards that allow you to save on the cost of petrol are very popular in the United States.
Even though fuel is no longer at its highest levels, many are taking advantage of fuel reward programs to save money.
In America there are many programs that offer a refund for every liter of fuel purchased.
These are programs whose membership is free and which allow you to save on the cost of refueling.
Signing up is done via the app or website and gives you the chance to earn rewards by entering your phone number when purchasing gas or paying with a debit or credit card linked to your account.
read also The Wangiri scam steals all your money on the SIM.
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