According to reports, a woman from Nebraska stumbled into a profitable quirk at a gas station pump. After swiping her Rewards Card twice, she realized you could get gas for free.
The prosecutors didn’t think her find was so clever and arrested the 45-year-old lady on felony theft charges on March 6. The gas station said her crime cost them around $28,000.
According to the prosecution, the woman took advantage of the system for a few months. When Bosselman Enterprises’ loss-prevention manager reported fraud at the company’s Lincoln, Nebraska Pump & Pantry in October, the police became involved.
In November 2022, the station’s fuel pumps received a software upgrade that allowed them to handle loyalty cards and more. However, the corporation was oblivious to a bug that let users toggle the pumps into demonstration mode by swiping their rewards card twice. In that mode, the user could pump gas for free.
Prosecutors stated in their probable cause statement that the loss-prevention manager found evidence of repetitive usage of a single card to get free gas. According to the statement, the woman was seen on camera more than once pumping gas from November 2022 until the problem was resolved on June 1, which let police identify her.
According to the authorities, the lady allegedly exploited the fraud to receive free gas and also let another woman use her card—for a fee.
Police stated the second lady informed them she paid to use the card for “discounted fuel.” This information was included in the probable cause statement. The borrower allegedly paid $500 to the woman for $700 worth of gas. According to the probable cause statement, the card was used 510 times, and almost 7,400 gallons of petrol were pumped for free.
After posting $7,500 bail, Thompson was released from jail. She must appear in court on April 11.
