Hackers Steal 600 Gallons of Fuel in Detroit
A pump was hacked to just give it away and block shutoff attempts.
Thieves who may have seen Mad Max too many times pulled off an astounding heist at a Detroit gas station, stealing more than 600 gallons in broad daylight, reports Fox 2 Detroit.
But rather than a convoy of wildly modified vehicles, the world's largest amplifier stack, and a flame-throwing guitar, these thieves utilized technology and stealth. Police say that pump number one was hacked to dispense free gas, which was then picked up by ten vehicles over the course of an hour and a half. That's around $1,800 worth of gas.
Furthermore, the hack also blocked attempts by clerk Aziz Awadh to shut off the pump when he discovered that the game was afoot, he told Fox 2 Detroit. Unable to disable the pump electronically, he was forced to use an emergency shutoff to cut the flow manually.
The internet is full of numerous hacks to get free gas. They may or may not work, and none of them are recommended. The activation of a single pump is one thing but blocking all electronic attempts to shut it off is next level, likely involving much more than the cheat codes of pressing certain buttons in a certain order that YouTube videos show people doing.
Police confirmed that a remote device was used to hack the pump, but so far they don't know much more. They are not even sure if all of the cars taking advantage of the free gas were co-conspirators or innocent motorists who just happened to get caught up in it. They have obtained gas station surveillance video and continue to investigate.
