Posted on 09/16/2025 5:00:15 PM PDT by nickcarraway
It starts off looking harmless. You’ve pulled into a petrol station, you’re in a rush, maybe even heading off on holiday, and a stranger at the next pump leans over with a polite smile. ‘Could you put five euros on your card for me? I’ll give you the cash now.’ It sounds like nothing – a neighbourly gesture, a quick favour.
But what many drivers in Spain don’t realise is that this “harmless” exchange is the basis of a clever new scam sweeping petrol stations across the country. And those five euros? They could end up draining your bank account of more than €150 before you’ve even driven out of the forecourt.
How the scam plays out
Here’s how it works. The scammer approaches you while you’re paying for your own fuel, asking if you’ll also cover a small amount for their car – usually just €5. They’ll hand you a crisp note on the spot, so it feels completely safe.
The trick comes after you’ve driven away. What you don’t know is that the pump was never reset properly. Your card is still logged in the system, meaning the scammer can carry on filling their tank – not for €5, but often right up to €150 or more. By the time you notice the transaction on your account, the scammer is gone.
Why petrol stations are the perfect hunting ground
This con is catching on fast because it takes advantage of two very simple things: speed and trust. Petrol stations are busy, especially in summer when Spain’s roads are packed with holidaymakers. People are distracted, in a rush, and less likely to scrutinise what’s happening at the pump.
And the genius – if you can call it that – of the scam is that it doesn’t feel like a scam at all. On the surface, it’s just one driver doing another a favour. It’s exactly that instinct to be helpful that scammers are banking on.
Authorities in France have already issued warnings after seeing the same trick spread there, and Spanish petrol stations are now on alert too. Some consumer groups have even described it as the ‘holiday scam of the summer,’ with drivers particularly vulnerable during long road trips.
How to avoid becoming the next victim
The advice from both police and petrol station staff is blunt: don’t do it. No matter how polite or convincing someone seems, never agree to put fuel on your card for a stranger.
If you absolutely felt compelled to help – say, in a genuine emergency – you’d need to check the pump yourself, make sure the amount is reset, and keep your eyes glued to the screen until the transaction finishes. But let’s be honest: when you’re standing in the heat, with cars lined up behind you and a stranger insisting it’s ‘just a fiver’, how realistic is that?
The safest option is to say no. It might feel awkward in the moment, but it’s a lot less awkward than discovering a €150 hole in your bank account later.
And if you do fall for it? Report it to your bank straight away and file a complaint with the police. The quicker you act, the better chance you have of recovering your money.
Petrol station scam drivers must watch out for
This isn’t the first time scammers have targeted drivers. Fake traffic fines sent by text message and bogus parking penalties have been doing the rounds for years. But this new con feels different because it happens face to face, in a setting where you’re not expecting danger.
That’s exactly why it’s working. In the middle of a busy motorway service station, the last thing you’re thinking about is being scammed. You’re thinking about snacks for the kids, stretching your legs, or making it to the coast before sunset.
And that’s what makes the ‘€5 scam’ so effective. It doesn’t rely on technology or hacking. It relies on human kindness – and turning it into a payday.
So next time you stop at a petrol station in Spain, keep this in mind: if someone asks for a tiny favour, don’t let it cost you a small fortune.
Just say no
I might do it (under the right conditions) but I would always insist on pumping it into their car myself and terminating the transaction myself.
But most people would just refuse, and I wouldn’t blame them a bit. It is sad we have to be this way now.
But that is how it is.
Does that whole deal not seem odd to people? Somebody offers to pay you cash, which they could easily walking into the station and pay the attendant, in exchange for putting that same amount on your card, and that doesn’t trigger some kind of alarm in your head? Seriously?
Maybe an unattended station?
Perhaps the system is different in Spain. My question here would be: If this guy has cash to pay for his gas, why doesn’t he just go inside and give it to the cashier for that amount on Pump Whatever? Why does he need it on my credit card?
Are the pumps still open at some stations after the shop/booth closes?
Maybe things are different in Spain.
Yes, if he has the cash, tell him to pay it himself.
Maybe his ex-wife is working the counter?
Missed seeing your comment before posting mine.
Someone approached me at a gas pump and asked if i could change $100 into twenties. Not being trained in spotting counterfeit money, I declined.
Maybe.
I can’t speak for most, I only refuel at gas stations that are open, and ones that I can walk in and hand the attendant cash. I might do credit/debit inside on the odd occasion, and pay at the pump with card only when going inside is not an option.
The safest option is to say no. It might feel awkward in the moment
Then he’d be filling bottles and sticking rags into the necks.
My response: “Sorry no, its a company car and a company card”
Debit card merchant fees are a lot less in Europe and Canada.
When in Europe, I use my debit card to pay whenever possible.
Why would anybody be stupid enough to do that? Such gullible, naive people.
I was leaving a rest stop in another State one day and was approached by a younger male at my driver's side window. I'm a female, and was in my early 70's at the time. My car door was locked as it usually is the minute I get in. I rolled the window down a slit to hear what he was saying. He asked if I had any extra money to help him and his traveler's. I said "no," rolled up the window, and hit the gas. 25 years in uniform in NY State's prison system makes me leery of everyone. I'm in my 22nd year of retirement, and I'm just as security conscious as the day I retired.
Was heading downtown the other day on the train. There was a homeless looking young guy who came up to my son at first. He said he needed to call someone and he wouldn’t touch my son’s phone. He just wanted the number to be called. I intervened and I was questioning whether to do it or not on my phone, but I don’t know what number we would have called. He said it was his mother. Not sure what kind of scam he could have been doing, but who knows these days. I declined.
My thought also.
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