Lincoln police arrested a lady in Nebraska after allegedly stealing hundreds of dollars in petrol for a fault that put the pump into “demo” mode, allowing gas to be pumped for free.
Dawn Thompson, 45, allegedly used a loyalty card for over six months to get free petrol at a Pump and Pantry. According to KOLN-TV, the woman tried the trick over 500 times, including numerous times in a single day.
According to the publication, Bosselman Enterprise’s loss prevention manager reported an incident at the gas station involving a fuel scam to the police. During the inquiry, law enforcement discovered that someone was taking advantage of a flaw in a recent software update that allowed customers to control their rewards cards at the pump.
It was released with a demo mode that could be accessed by swiping a rewards card twice a row. In demo mode, the pumps dispensed gas without requiring users to enter a payment method.
According to police, between November 2022 and June 2023, Thompson pumped 7,413.59 gallons of gas, totaling more than $27,800. They also claim she authorized another individual to use her card for a fee.
The exploit was patched in June 2023, and Thompson sold the card shortly afterward. It is unknown what value the card would have had, given that investigators stated it did not earn any reward points because it was never associated with fuel sales.
