New 'pump-switching' scam spreads across US as gas prices surge [View all]

https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/energy/articles/warning-pump-switching-scam-spreads-180500439.html

Warning: New ‘pump-switching’ scam spreads across US as gas prices surge past $4 — even Toyotas stuck with $150 charges
Rudro Chakrabarti
Sat, April 4, 2026 at 1:05 PM CDT

As gas prices climb, so does a scam called "pump-switching" — and it can cost you hundreds of dollars before you even realize what happened.

When Mignon Adams stopped for gas at a Sunoco station on Walnut and 22nd streets in Philadelphia in February, she didn't think twice about the stranger who offered to pump her gas.

She turned him down, but the man lingered. When Adams finished filling her tank, he insisted on putting the nozzle back for her. She tipped him and drove off.

Then she saw her credit card bill: $150.

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