How to Protect Your Vehicle from Employee Gas Theft?

There is no doubt that gasoline prices have been soaring to new extremes daily. At this rate, it is unlikely for gasoline to be a basic commodity in the future. Looking at the prices is concerning as it means there will also be a spike in fuel thefts.

 “Desperate times call for desperate measures” seems to be the justification given by most gas thieves for their heinous acts. Despite their determination to steal gas from your vehicles, there are ways to stop them from doing so. 

It is easy to understand why a layman indulges in fuel theft, though the same cannot be said about employees. To prevent gas theft, we must first understand why and how employees commit fuel theft.

Why are Employees Stealing Gas?

Rising gas prices are a global issue that doesn’t get half the attention it deserves. This is because the events preceding and following the hikes are more newsworthy. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the thievery of gas get more noticed than the rising price of gas itself.

Now, it might seem weird to hear employees stealing gas from their own trucks given to them by the company; after all, the fuel is supposed to be used by the car. However, it will make sense once you understand the methods by which they steal.

How Do People Steal Gas from Vehicles and Gas Stations?

In the modern day, stealing gas has almost become a competition to see who can come up with the most crafty methods of thievery. To be honest, these thieves come up with a few out-of-the-box solutions to their problems, with some thieves being able to steal thousands of dollars worth of fuel.

To understand how these thieves steal gas, we must look at both areas of theft: your vehicle and gas stations. We will also look at how employees can con companies in these very same areas.

1. Gas stations

A gas station is a more lucrative target for thieves as it has more fuel to steal. However, a gas pump is also harder to steal from due to high surveillance and traffic. Despite the difficulty, some thieves have still managed to steal gas from a gas pump.

At a gas station, a thief steals from the station owners. That is not the case when an employee is at a gas station. Usually, an employee seals from their employer instead of the station in unorthodox ways. 

There have been reports of employees using their employer-issued cards to fill up other vehicles and containers with diesel. Since the employer pays the bill on the card, these employees steal extra diesel for themselves.

2. Vehicles

Fuel theft with vehicles has been common ever since the creation of cars. There are only so many ways to steal fuel from a vehicle. The most common method is to bust open the fuel door and siphon the fuel out of the car. 

A less traditional way of fuel theft is for thieves to drill into the fuel tank or cut fuel lines to get to the fuel. Since drilling or cutting is more apparent, it is less likely to occur. Employees again take a different route to steal from the employer.

Usually, employees steal fuel from their company by siphoning fuel out of their work trucks and lying about their fuel consumption. This is why you must do everything you can to protect your vehicle.

Beneficial Tips to Avoid Employee Gas Theft

There is no complete way to eliminate fuel theft. However, there are measures that you can take to severely discourage a thief from targeting your vehicle. These measures are usually very easy on the pocket yet highly effective at startling a potential thief. 

1. Park your vehicle in a way that debilitates the thief

Ideally, you should be parking your vehicles in a garage, though this is obviously not possible for most owners. The best you can do is park your vehicle in a well-lit area where your fuel door is visible. This makes any thief looking to steal your fuel very visible to the eye.

2. Get a locking gas cap

It is your duty to protect your cars from thieves by making it extremely hard for them to get away with their crimes. This is why you need to get a locking gas cap so that the thief cannot simply pop open your fuel door and access the gas tanks. 

The only option left for the thief is to drill into the gas tank or cut the fuel lines, both of which make the fuel theft very visible. Basically, this tiny device will highly discourage a thief from targeting your vehicle. 

3. Monitor your gas station card and fuel consumption

If you have entrusted a card to your employees to pay for fuel bills, then you might want to check on the usage every now and then. Doing this will highlight any discrepancies that may be hiding from plain sight.

Keeping track of fuel consumption is also important, as your employees might be hiding the true figures from you. If the numbers seem higher than expected, have your truck checked by a professional to understand the reason behind excess consumption. 

Fuel consumption is also essential for a company to find ways to reduce consumption wherever possible. While doing this on current routes is hard, it is easy when you have software that optimizes routes to cut down fuel costs.

How Does Upper Help You Save Gas While Performing Multi-stop Deliveries?

It would be nice to have software that takes over all your route planning needs and worries, would it not? Well, what are you waiting for? Upper is here to automate your route planning process in a way that is as efficient as possible! 

Say goodbye to hours of stress and use Upper to get the most optimized routes for all your stops within minutes. Thanks to Upper’s advanced route planning abilities, you can save time and money in drastic ways.

Upper is the best and quickest solution to most of your delivery problems. Upper helps you capture proof of delivery by allowing your drivers to send collect e-signatures and photographs to confirm delivery.

Final Drop

It is already considered unsafe to park your cars outside for extended periods of time, and these gas thefts only make the distrust worse. With the latest events happening around the country, it appears that not even a gas pump is safe from theft. 

Such events only make people wary and anxious, wondering if there are any permanent solutions to gas theft. While there is no perfect solution, there are measures to discourage thieves from gaining access to cars. 

While gas theft issues are hard to deal with, issues such as route planning and optimization software are easily countered with Upper. Start Upper’s 7 days free trial today to learn how Upper helps you save tremendous amounts of time and money.