3 Big Fuel Fraud Red Flags

Are your fuel bills increasing month over month with no increase in service or delivery? That in itself is a huge red flag that you need to investigate. Read on to discover the top three fuel fraud red flags and how to prevent them.

Fuel Card Overuse

Even the most trusting business owners can’t deny overt fuel theft by employees. Although it can be depressing when discovered, it’s better to find out sooner than later. Often, it’s just a few bad apples taking advantage of their fuel cards by gassing up their personal vehicle.

And other times, employees share their fuel cards with family and friends. The answer to this is to implement a stricter fuel management system and discover which cards show overuse, and proceed from there. Monitor fuel cards closely, and you’ll soon see where the leak is!

A Spike in Usage

Since fuel expenses are a large part of your overhead, it should be evident if there is a significant increase in usage with no simple explanation. But what if you don’t have any fuel monitoring systems? Then, it can be almost impossible to spot theft.

Fuel usage should be connected to production. If you’re a contractor and you have a large job out of town, then, of course, you’re going to have a bigger fuel bill that month.

But if there is no change in your production or vehicle and fleet usage, yet you see higher bills, you can pretty much figure it’s theft. The solution is fuel tracking with custom keypad settings. It’s easy to set the system up to track:

·        Vehicle

·        Date and time

·        Employee ID

You can also add other settings like departments and categories.

Overnight or Weekend Usage

Do you keep bulk fuel onsite? If you don’t have anti-theft measures in place, you could be losing fuel every night and weekend. A major red flag is if you notice any usage in the evening after closing or on the weekends.

Without a fuel management system, you could be losing thousands of dollars per year. The solution is to make your property and site secure and implement a robust fuel management system from Ricochet Fuel.

Here are our top tips for the security of your property:

• Signage– put trespassing signs around your property and written notice that there are security cameras.
• Lights – make sure your parking lot, yard, and outside the facility are well lit. That will scare away most thieves. Put the lights on a timer, so they come on at dusk.
• Cameras– in addition to the lights, add security cameras. Make sure to review the tapes at least once a week.
• Keypads– each fuel tank should have a keypad, and employees will need to be trained on how to use them.
• Fencing–- have the perimeter secured with fencing. And make sure your fuel isn’t easily accessible by placing it in the back of the property.

Ricochet Fuel Can Help Eliminate Fuel Theft

Since 1988, Ricochet Fuel Distributors, Inc. has been supplying bulk fuel. We service Texas and the surrounding states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.

We’d like to make you one of our satisfied customers too. Contact Ricochet Fuel today.