Refueling at the gas station is always associated with a leap of faith. Payment is made afterwards. Figures from the State Criminal Police Office show that this year it is not working quite as well as in previous years. However, it is worth taking a look at the regions.
Magdeburg (dpa/sa) – In Saxony-Anhalt there are signs of an increase in fuel fraud. After a slight decline in the Corona years 2020 and 2021, by August 2022 almost the level of the entire previous year had been reached, as figures from the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) show. According to this, a total of 2463 cases of fuel fraud were recorded in the pre-Corona year 2019. In 2020 the number was 2455 and in the following year 2305. According to the information, the police have already recorded 2276 cases in the current year.
In view of the increased fuel prices at the gas stations, the financial loss was now 166,900 euros, according to the LKA – after around 163,300 in the entire previous year. In 2019 and 2020, the damage amounted to a good 141,000 euros. Less than half of the criminal offenses have recently been cleared up. According to the information, in 2019 it was still 52.5 percent, in 2020 the rate was 44.5 percent and last year it was 46.6 percent.
According to the data from the LKA, the regional distribution of the cases across the districts is very different. While 45 cases (2021: 32) were registered in the Altmarkkreis Salzwedel this year by August, there were 347 (2021: 299) in the Börde district. In Halle, the police recorded 64 cases from January to August after 118 in the entire previous year. In Magdeburg there have been 225 cases of fuel fraud so far this year – after 131 in 2021.
Preventing fuel fraud is a major challenge from the investigators’ point of view. When filling up, the potential customer is given a basic level of trust. First there is the gas, then you pay. “In order to completely prevent crimes of this kind, there is only the possibility of setting up a prepayment system, refueling at the machine or paying in advance with the gas station attendant, who then activates the pump accordingly,” it said. Video surveillance is also possible. However, this is primarily aimed at deterring perpetrators, facilitating the investigation of crimes and strengthening employees’ sense of security.
