Hauliers are being reminded by the police not to leave fuel cards in their cabs, following a spate of thefts across the East of England.
Drivers have also been advised to leave a note in the window saying nothing has been left in the vehicle, after thousands of pounds’ worth of diesel was purchased before the owners had realised in several incidents this year.
PC Andy Barkway of Norfolk Police said although no suspects had been identified, the crimes appeared to be the work of a single gang targeting vehicles for fuel cards.
He said: “We are investigating several cases where large amounts of fuel have been purchased fraudulently at 24-hour filling stations across Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire.
“The purchases are made over a matter of hours, at night, and before the owners have realised.”
He said owners could consider keeping their fuel cards on the key fob in a holder and added: “In addition, 24-hour filling stations need to be alert to people behaving suspiciously, for instance trying to hide their identities when filling up with large amounts of fuel, and to check the cards for any signs they may have been tampered with.”
In March, two fuel cards were stolen and used to buy £1,500 worth of fuel at multiple locations. In April, there was a further report of cards being stolen from a lorry and used 36 times to obtain £6,000 worth of fuel.
And in July more cards stolen from artics in Cambridgeshire were used to obtain fuel across the country, totalling £6,000.
