{"id":4279,"date":"2026-06-11T21:01:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T21:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=4279"},"modified":"2026-06-11T21:01:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T21:01:19","slug":"screw-scam-spurs-new-fears-for-drivers-when-filling-their-tanks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=4279","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Screw scam&#8217; spurs new fears for drivers when filling their tanks"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4278\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d92a8acceaa3c5a1be7eacf72fad9f4a.webp\" width=\"764\" srcset=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d92a8acceaa3c5a1be7eacf72fad9f4a.webp 764w, https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d92a8acceaa3c5a1be7eacf72fad9f4a-300x170.webp 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 764px) 100vw, 764px\" \/><\/figure>\n <span>article<\/span><\/div> <div><div><p><span>The Timberville Police Department warned of a scam that can be installed onto a gas pump with just a screw. (Timberville Police Department via Facebook)<\/span> <!-- --><\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=4276\">Kennedy Center\u2019s lawsuit against Chuck Redd dismissed<\/a><\/p> <!-- --><\/div><\/div> <!-- --><\/div> <!-- --> <!-- --><p>A Virginia police department is warning drivers about a new way scammers are trying to rip off people when they fill their tanks: the gas pump screw scam.<\/p> <p>Big picture view:<\/p> <!-- --><p>The Timberville Police Department explained the scammers would place a screw or some other object in a fuel pump handle cradle. The item would block the pump from properly shutting off after someone fueled up and replaced the handle.<\/p> <!-- --><div><\/div> <!-- --><div><div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"657\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpermalink.php%3Fstory_fbid%3Dpfbid02m3mcM8Vzc2Ja7Tee9nxhu3ihdQG2bBwUeHNgVYWhHfVt7cqRm38XfvTUq6zCrKfNl%26id%3D100064671612548&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500\" style=\"border-style:none;overflow:hidden;\" width=\"500\">\u00a0<\/iframe><\/div><\/div> <!-- --><p>Why you should care:<\/p> <!-- --><p>With the pump still active, the scammers could pull up afterward and make their own fuel purchases on the victim\u2019s credit or debit card.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=4273\">Gov. Abbott activates state emergency resources ahead of severe weather, flash flood threats<\/a><\/p> <!-- --><p>What you can do:<\/p> <!-- --><p>The police department recommends people check the pump before and after filling up whenever they stop for gas. If anything seems off or if the pump looks like it has been tampered with, drivers should not use the pump and notify the attendant immediately.<\/p> <!-- --><p>In\u00a0<u>a Facebook post<\/u>, authorities also advise checking that the pump reads $0.00 before starting and making sure the transaction has completely ended before driving off.<\/p> <!-- --><p>What they&#8217;re saying:<\/p> <!-- --><p>The police department reminds everyone, &#8220;Staying alert and reporting suspicious activity can help protect you and others from becoming victims of this scam.&#8221;<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=4269\">Trump nominates Jay Clayton to serve as Director of National Intelligence<\/a><\/p> <!-- --> <!-- --> <!-- --> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Virginia police department is warning drivers about a new way scammers are trying to rip off people when they fill their tanks: the gas pump screw scam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-consumer","category-crime-and-public-safety"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>&#039;Screw scam&#039; spurs new fears for drivers when filling their tanks - Houston Moving Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=4279\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&#039;Screw scam&#039; spurs new fears for drivers when filling their tanks - Houston Moving Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Virginia police department is warning drivers about a new way scammers are trying to rip off people when they fill their tanks: the gas pump screw scam.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=4279\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Houston Moving Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-11T21:01:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d92a8acceaa3c5a1be7eacf72fad9f4a.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"764\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=4279#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=4279\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba\"},\"headline\":\"&#8216;Screw scam&#8217; 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