Check your license plate

[Nanc952]

This is scary but read a article that because of high gas prices people are stealing license plates and then filling their gas tank up with your plate.
Guess who the police are going to be hunting for not paying for gas.

So be sure to check often if you park outside or at the mall and report right away so the police will know it is stolen and you are not stealing gas.

This is something I never thought about so wanted to give you all a heads up too.

[killbarney]

Thanks for the heads-up, it's not something I ever would have thought of.

[Bubblescc]

yeah but they should have camera's and they would know the desription of the vehicle that stole the gas...Unless they just happened to find someone with the same vehicle....I will pay attention though just in case,lol

[sea-shell]

I would have never thought of that either - but I think its also going to get worse :(

[Freebeemom]

Oh, you mean physically stealing your license plate? Don't you think it would be obvious when the police come knocking at your door and the plate/car style and vin number don't match up?

[cpbaby]

http://www.snopes.com/autos/theft/gastheft.asp


Claim: Some thieves steal license plates to facilitate gasoline thefts.

Status: True.


Examples: [Collected via e-mail, 2006]

Just a warning...

A woman said her son found his license plate missing so he called the police to file a report. They told him people were stealing the plates to get free gas. Given the rise in gas prices, people have taken to stealing license plates, putting them on their car, then getting gas and running. The gas station will have "your" license plate # and you could be in trouble for "pump and run." Check your car periodically to be sure you still have a plate. If you should find it missing, file a report immediately!!!


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Just an FYI that is going to sound ridiculous.....

Keep an eye on your license plate! Make sure you always know it's there! Mine was stolen this weekend and I have no idea when! The lady at the revenue office said that they have replaced several license plates since gas prices have been so high. People are stealing them, putting them on their vehicles to go buy gas and driving off without paying! When the license plate is reported as the "drive off vehicle", it's YOU they contact! Be aware!!!!



Origins: Rapidly escalating prices have sharply increased the amount of cash people need to have at the ready when refueling their vehicles. This new economic reality has resulted in a rise in "pump and run" gasoline thefts, a form of heist in which perpetrators fill up their vehicles and drive away without paying.

According to the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), in 2004 gasoline theft cost the industry an estimated $237 million, with the average loss per store pegged at $2,141. Yet even with that information, it's hard to put a finger on the magnitude of the current problem
because the rise in gasoline prices has driven up the dollar value of the good being stolen. (The typical cost of a gasoline drive-off five years ago was $20, but that same tankful in 2006 is now $40 to $60, according to a gas station owner in Madison, Wisconsin.) Also on the rise is the number of people doing the stealing, with the economic pinch felt at the pumps — combined with the desire to "punish" station owners who are (unfairly) perceived to be reaping wild profits — motivating some ordinarily law-abiding consumers to turn to pilferage.

However, while gas theft is on the rise and there have been instances of pump and runs by vehicles bearing stolen plates, the situation warned against in the e-mail is not epidemic — there doesn't appear to have been a sudden sharp upswing in the number of gasoline drive-offs where stolen tags were involved. Even among pump and run write-ups, news stories about such crimes being facilitated by stolen plates are few and far between. Therefore, while the warning being spread in e-mail is valid, it is not one that needs be spread to one's nearest and dearest at the speed of light.

The ill-intentioned do make off with license plates, but it is much more likely purloined tags will be used to disguise stolen vehicles being moved from one location to another or armed robbery getaway cars than they will to obscure the identities of those filching gas. If not to protect yourself from accusations of gas theft, if you discover one of your tags has gone missing, you should certainly notify police, because by so doing you might be helping to foil a far more serious crime in progress.

Barbara "blew plate special" Mikkelson

Last updated: 13 July 2006

[tsquared]

i am sure this is only the beginning of things to come...........

[june72]

Yea Tom, I am sure you are right. Things are getting worse and worse. :(

[killbarney]

The moral of this story is to check your tags frequently because they could be stolen for whatever reason. I always look at mine when I leave a store-sometimes it's the only way I know the car is mine :D after I've lost it for a few lol. And mine is easy-first 3 letters are OMA-the name of Jackson's "mentor" in the higher plane :)

[MsLynn]

thats why i love having my personalized plate, lol. they went up this year to 20 a year, but its the one perk i give myself

[cpbaby]

My dh just went to get gas for the week. When he went in to pay, the cashier asked him if he happened to notice the license plate of the white car that just left. Of course, he hadnt. They drove off with $54 of gas. There was a HUGE uproar a few months ago because a city a few miles over decided to pass an ordinance where you have to pay before you pump. Its alot of trouble, but I guess EVERYWHERE is going to have to start requiring it.

[tigger4]

I will keep an eye on that. Although I don't see how anyone around here could gas 'n go as it is called. There are no gas stations that I know of in Western WA that allows you to pump before paying.

[MsLynn]

no one around here will even turn on the pump till you've paid for gas

[BeanieLuvR]

Never thought of that. Thanks for the warning. Also please be sure to keep a check on the gas in your tank. My husband had his check engine light come on and took the car to the dealership and they told him someone was stealing his gas. We started to watch all 4 of our cars and found they were stealing a small amount from one of them every few days. Needless to say we had to buy locking gas caps. My husband was outside talking to the neighbor and he told they had been stealing from him too. The bad part is we live in a small town in a good area. I think Tom is right things are only going to get worse.