Energy Fraud - Four Methods of Fuel Fraud and Theft

*UPDATED*


UAE uses technology to target fuel Fraud and manpower. 
Its seems surprising that in an oil rich nation like UAE that fuel fraud would be an issue. The old system relied on an attendant to dispense fuel. This allowed for collusion between the attendant and the company car owner to defraud companies.


A fuel station attendant at Eppco, who recently resigned from his job, said: “I used to make Dh200 per day extra through such adjustments. This is in addition to my poor salary of Dh1,200 per month. The company drivers who are also paid low salaries would get a bill of Dh400, and fill only for Dh200. The fuel station attendance would get 30 per cent of the amount, that is Dh60 per transaction, and the balance is pocketed by the driver." 


“Eighty per cent of the company vehicles coming in the petrol stations for fuel use payment cards for payment and drivers have invented ways to cheat their own companies with the help of petrol station attendants,” said the source

The technology deployed consists of number plate recognition and customer card automated payment.



Original article

In Northern Ireland Fuel Fraud sales is where para-military organisations are involved in stolen or smuggled fuel sales within areas of Belfast that they control. In back street fuel stations taxi drivers and those in the know, can fill up for half the normal price. The product may have been smuggled across the border with the Irish Republic avoiding duty or even stolen from a legitimate petrol station. No duty is paid or collected so the tax authorities are defrauded. Thankfully there is no indication that this is spreading to the rest of the UK. 


Fuel Fraud Vietnam often involved poor quality product sales with some petrol / gas stations being closed for dispensing product that may harm vehicles.


Something we have not seen in the UK but started to appear in the US is card skimmers automated petrol / gas dispensers as shown above. These read the card details and transmit to a nearby computer via bluetooth or other method. Another reason that the US needs to introduce EMV asap! Here is a picture of a skimming device from a fuel dispenser.