New 'pump-switching' scam spreads across US as gas prices surge

[dalton99a]

https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/energy/articles/warning-pump-switching-scam-spreads-180500439.html

Warning: New ‘pump-switching’ scam spreads across US as gas prices surge past $4 — even Toyotas stuck with $150 charges
Rudro Chakrabarti
Sat, April 4, 2026 at 1:05 PM CDT

As gas prices climb, so does a scam called "pump-switching" — and it can cost you hundreds of dollars before you even realize what happened.

When Mignon Adams stopped for gas at a Sunoco station on Walnut and 22nd streets in Philadelphia in February, she didn't think twice about the stranger who offered to pump her gas.

She turned him down, but the man lingered. When Adams finished filling her tank, he insisted on putting the nozzle back for her. She tipped him and drove off.

Then she saw her credit card bill: $150.

...

[ck4829]

1. Epstein-Pumping.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. Kind of makes no sense.

If you leave with your receipt, your charge card is closed.

[pnwest]

3. She let him pump, probably didn't get a receipt

so he then let his buddy pull up to the pump and he kept pumping on her dime.

[Ferrets are Cool]

4. Who in their right mind would allow someone else to pump their gas????

[MurrayDelph]

8. You should do it only if

you live in New Jersey and parts of Oregon.

[progree]

5. How it works -- from the article

A scammer approaches you at the pump and offers to help with your gas. Whether you accept or not, the goal is the same: get control of the nozzle and avoid properly returning it when you're done.

That leaves your credit card transaction active. The scammer then turns to the next driver who pulls in, offering to fill their tank for $20 cash. They pocket the money while your card absorbs the charges — and they won't stop until either the pump shuts off or your card hits its limit.

Police in Lower Merion Township, outside Philadelphia, have warned that scammers can be aggressive and may physically grab the nozzle from victims who try to turn them away.

. . .

How to protect yourself

Police and consumer protection experts recommend a few steps to avoid becoming a victim.

Make sure you're the one returning the nozzle to the pump and closing out your transaction — either by hanging it up yourself or pressing the "end transaction" button on the keypad. Grab a receipt before you leave. Using a mobile payment option like Apple Pay or Google Pay can also add a layer of protection, since the transaction is tied to your device rather than an open card reader.

More...

[Norrrm]

6. Jay Leno had a skit at the gas pump.

Jay Leno had a skit at the gas pump. He pulled up on the other side of the pump
where a lady was fueling her car. He distracted her by asking directions and facing away
from the pump. A little person crawled out of the trunk and used her hose to fill up his
car. Then he switched the hose back to her car.

[GenThePerservering]

7. Why on earth would anyone let someone do this?

Try to grab the pump out of some people's hand and it stands to cause a big, noisy scene with people yelling and cursing and some guy getting kicked in the nuts.

[Iggo]

9. I don't want to call these victims dumbshits.

(Also, this ain’t new. Just like the one where people rob you after you take money out of the ATM isn’t new.)