A man was caught on camera swapping pumps at a California gas station, which led to others unknowingly paying for his gas.
Surveillance video from an AMPM station in Roseville shows the man, driving a Mercedes-Benz, switch gas pumps to the other sides of the island before another driver pulls up and, unknowingly, pays for his fuel while using a pump that stretched over from the opposite side, ABC10 in Sacramento reports.
Roseville Police shared the video as a warning to local residents amid high gas prices nationwide, including an average of $6.058 in California.
“They, on the other side of the island, are actually using your nozzle to steal gas. We’ve seen a few cases historically where this has worked and we have been able to fortunately catch people,” said Rob Baquera with Roseville Police via ABC10.
Baquera said the recent spike in gas prices played a factor in the incident, however, this isn't the first time the scheme has been conducted in Roseville.
In 2019, local authorities arrested a man who had committed the same crime at least a dozen times.
Baquera said drivers must be aware of all possible schemes in which gas is stolen.
“Either through your gas cap, or potentially cutting a hole in your gas tank to drain that fuel out,” he said via ABC10.
Gas prices nationwide still remain $1.50 higher per gallon than they were this time last year, however, recently saw their largest one-day drop in nearly 15 years.
The average price of gas in the U.S. dropped from $4.752 per gallon last Thursday (July 7) to $4.721 on Friday (July 8), as well as a weekly change of 12.1 cents, according to data from AAA.com.