Would be funny if someone figured out a way to remotely set all gas pumps in the country to "release mode" simultaneously: I'm sure this would make for a memorable experience.
I'm guessing most gas station attendants would either hit the emergency stop button (which is big and red and physically cuts power), or put up signs asking people to record start and stop gallons and pay inside.
It would be entertaining. But it wouldn't hurt the O&G companies.
The gas is already paid for by the gas stations at X price. Arbitrarily lowering it to $0.01/gal does not do anything but hurt the local gas station owner or piss off minimum wage worker(s) dealing with the fallout.
Short term, for the consumer that sounds entertaining. Long term, I can think of no good outcomes. Stations go bankrupt, government bailouts with money from where? Etc
Going bankrupt is a bit extreme in my opinion. A gas line company was infiltrated and held for ransom last year (Colonial Pipeline), yet they are still up and running. In the end, gas went up a couple of cents nationwide if I recall correctly (might have been limited to the east coast?). Company is still in business. The only people that were really hurt was the Main Street.
Exactly. You have to drive up with plates that identify where the car is from. You ain’t stealing shit, unless you already stole the car in which case steal the guys wallet too.
yea; card skimmers are more appealing because stealing gas requires physical presence of a heavy and hazardous substance. CC skimmers require a 10-second installation then they just send CCs via cell networks for a week or until they're discovered. Do it right and they're basically untraceable, and the stolen CCs can be charged for thousands per skimmer.
I'd imagine the scammers would just pay some homeless guy or illegal immigrant to actually steal the gas rather than doing it themselves. Same as money mules.
- should I be depressed at how shoddy our infrastructure is
- elated that despite the low hanging fruit of these vulnerabilities, they aren't exploited nearly as often or as devastatingly as they could be