An American man has warned fellow road users to pay careful attention to the gas pumps when they go and fill up, having noticed what somebody behind him was doing, which was highly unusual. The incident was shared by Marvis (@marvisdss9h) on TikTok while he was out filling up his own car at a gas station.
Marvis had simply been filling his own car up when he spotted something strange going on behind him. Unsurprisingly, he went to check it out, as stories of strange behaviour and scams at gas stations are not uncommon. What he found was a screw attached to one of the gas pumps, which at first might not seem unusual.
But as he revealed, this is a little trick that some road users use to try to avoid having to pay for their own gasoline. In fact, it is a massive scam that can then cost the person who just filled up with gasoline a huge amount of money.
Marvis said that everyone should look carefully at gas station pumps before they fill up. He also said to pay close attention to the meters themselves, and to make sure they’ve reset to zero before you try to fill up your car.
This Is What Marvis Saw at the Gas Station
@marvisdss9h♬ original sound – marvisdss9h
The video posted on his TikTok account shows Marvis zooming into a screw that is attached to a gas pump, which seems unusual but doesn’t indicate what is happening. When someone inserts a screw into a specific part of a pump, it then stops the machine from resetting after a customer has paid for their gasoline and driven away.
Whoever put the screw in the pump can then drive up and fill up their car with gasoline, all while the meter continues to rise, and the cost of this new tank of fuel is added onto what the person previously had used. The scammer can then simply drive away without having paid a penny.
If the meter doesn’t reset and the transaction stays active, that person can then basically add the fuel they have used onto the previous customer’s debit card before the machine itself has reset. This method is called the “screw method” gas pump scam, with KRPC Click2Houston also having reported on it. So the poor soul who has just filled with gas and thought they’d paid may find a shocking bill in their bank account.
How To Stop Being Scammed at the Gas Station
Those who have seen this scam have a very simple answer to the problem. Always check the fuel nozzle holder itself in case anything appears to be out of place. Wait a few seconds to make sure the meter has reset after you have put the nozzle back in before you drive away. That way, you know the transaction is over, and you aren’t likely to get scammed by anyone else.
It’s also worth checking nozzle holders for anything out of place, and to make sure no screws or lose objects have been jammed into places. One other way to stop being scammed is to make sure you have a copy of your receipt afterwards. If the bill from the gas station comes in higher than expected, you then have proof that you were likely scammed.
Other Scams Can Take Place at a Gas Station
One of the other major scams at gas stations is the credit card skimming scam. In these instances, criminals take payment information straight from the pump. They can effectively clone your credit card information and use it for themselves, so they don’t have to pay anything at the pump. The screw in the pump, however, is an interesting new method for scammers to catch you out.
Some TikTok users who watched Marvis’s video gave a few tips and suggestions on what to do. “I don’t leave the pump until it gets back to the welcome screen,” said one. “I always press ‘cancel’ or ‘clear’ before I leave,” said another road user.
“I treat the gas pump just like the ATM. I will stand there until it resets,” said another viewer. “I don’t care how many people are waiting behind me. I’m not leaving until I see that main menu and get my receipt.” All of these are simple ways that ensure you aren’t going to get caught out by criminal behavior.