How do you avoid fuel theft in your small business?
By securing your fleet cards to ensure theft is extremely limited.
Fuel theft occurs every day in our economy, usually due to the loose controls associated with credit cards in businesses. Credit card thieves are creative and advanced in their ability to steal from you. “Skimmers” and “Bluesnarfers” (not to mention less sophisticated card thieves) are a real and recurring risk for any business using credit cards daily at gas stations. A single skimming location can be expected to steal $100,000 for the thieves who successfully deploy it. It’s a profitable form of theft that will not be going away any time soon. To avoid being taken advantage of, avoid retail gas stations to begin with and avoid giving low level employees access to your credit cards.
The best way to avoid fuel theft is to skip the use of credit cards and opt instead for something just as easy but designed with security in mind, like Star Oilco’s Pacific Pride Fleet Card. You’ll enjoy the convenience and benefit of using a card for your Fuelman Network purchases, without compromising your security.
Why is fuel an easy target? Fuel can easily be sold for cash, making it very attractive to thieves. It’s also a preferred way to use a stolen credit card to turn credit into cash. Shown in the picture below is a truck set up with a slip tank to steal and re-sell fuel with a stolen credit card. Be aware, criminals have a proven ability to turn gasoline and diesel into cash by targeting retail gas stations.
Bottom line: Credit card skimming is a major threat. The best way to avoid exposing your small business is to stop using a credit card, especially for fuel purchases. Use a Pacific Pride Fleet Card instead to avoid the risk of skimming and other forms of internal theft.
Unlike credit cards, the Pacific Pride Fleet Card limits purchases to fuel and offers you the flexibility to limit total gallons (not dollars, which require frequent limit adjustments), restrict purchases to certain times of the day, days of the week or even by zip code. And when used at a stand alone commercial cardlock location, Pacific Pride Fleet Cards operate on their own network with Pacific Pride. Save your business from being exposed to a credit card transaction platform that can be exploited by thieves. Credit cards do not have these restrictions to protect your business.
Security is paramount, but not the only reason to use a Pacific Pride fleet card. Click to learn more!
Want too learn more about the rules for using Commercial Cardlock in Oregon? Click here, or call Star Oilco at (503) 283-1256. We’ll help secure your fleet from fuel theft.
Pacific Pride fleet fuel card.