Htydjtk

I was at a petrol station in rural New Zealand at the weekend which only accepted payment via the automated card reader on the forecourt. After I had filled up, a young woman approached me and asked if I would use my card to pay for her petrol, and she would pay me back in cash.

While I tried to work out if this was safe, she said it was OK if I didn't want to, and walked away.

Was this an attempted scam, or have I just refused help to someone who needed it?

Plenty of people don't have credit/debit cards, if they had cash in hand they were probably just one of those people. Cash first, fuel 2nd with you pumping, not much risk to you in that scenario.

Could it have been a ruse to get some free fuel from you or rob you while your guard was down? Sure, but seems less likely.

In my experience scammers are actually trying to get cash, not goods, so it's possible, but I don't see an obvious play. Some possibilities that come to mind:

• She takes off before giving you the cash


• She gives you counterfeit cash (good enough to fool you but not trained merchants)


• Some sort of short-change sleight-of-hand (I have actually been victim to this)


• She somehow puts more on your card than just gas (not sure how that would work unless you gave her the card)


• She parlays your kindness into another purchase (food, etc.)

If it were me, I probably would have tried to help, being very careful not to fall for one of the above schemes, but I certainly don't blame you for being skeptical.

Some people don't have or carry credit cards, for various reasons... so this could be legit. But there are ways of using this situation to take advantage of someone.

One way it could be a scam is that she does this all day hoping someone hands her their card for her to go swipe at the machine, during which time she can photograph it and use it for online purchases later or sell the card's info.

Another way this could be a scam is if she is trying to use this as a distraction, either to mug you or to pickpocket you, possibly with the help of someone else. (Less likely due to all the security cameras at gas stations, but criminals aren't always the brightest minds).

One way to protect yourself is to take her $20 cash, pre-approve to pump up to $20 on your card, swipe the card yourself and walk away. It's quick and you don't have to stand there and pump it yourself.

There's a small chance this was a scam, or a distraction for some third person to come and steal things from your car. Could also have been an attempt to pass counterfeit notes to an unsuspecting person (like a tourist)

But here in NZ we do have a number of automated petrol stations that sell 91, 95, diesel, and perhaps carwashes. They cannot sell LPG without a qualified attendant on site, but they might have vending machines. These are also known as "truck stops"

These automated bowsers have a card reader and will pre-debit up to $150 NZD off your balance before the pump handle is raised. That's how the service station makes sure you have the wherewithall to cover the unknown total cost. If you have a credit card, that pre-charge is simply "unavailable" but you're not paying interest on it.

However if you have a debit card or an eftpos card that "reservation" can cause financial hardship.

If it was me I'd totally make a spot judgement call about the person and decide whether to help or not. If it were a spanky new car and the person had smokes then I might decide no, but a frazzled mum driving a beat-up old 90s car is unlikely to be scamming you out of some dollars. I might even hit the bowser with "dispense $20 worth" on my card rather than "fill" and then just leave without taking cash, because its nice to do something for someone.

Source - I'm a kiwi.

Further info on card charge at robo-stations: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/08/petrol-stations-introduce-new-99-charge-pay-pump/ and https://gull.nz/faq/

If she never touches your card it is really just you selling her a gallon of fuel, not that big a deal. If she wants to buy a full tank then check the security features on the currency.

If there is an alternate petrol station nearby suggest they try there for cash transaction or just donate her the fuel to get there if her car is on fumes. I would ask them to pay it forward rather than accept a small amount. If you feel victimised ask to check her fuel gauge first to verify the need.