Are gas thieves stealing license plates from cars? According to one especially popular email warning, thieves are stealing license plates from the cars of unsuspecting motorists. They’re putting the plates on their own cars, filling their tanks with gas and driving away without paying. “The gas station will have your license plate number (on its surveillance cameras) and you could be in trouble for ‘pump and run’,” the email warns.

It continues: “Check your car periodically to be sure you still have a (license) plate. If you should find it missing, file a report immediately! Make sure you always know it’s there! When the license plate is reported as the “drive off vehicle,” it’s you they contact!” The ominous email ends with the admonition to “pass this on.”

Is the warning possible? Of course. But before you pass it on, consider some facts. An identical email made the rounds in 2005, when gas prices spiked in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. And while gas theft is still a significant problem, retailers have taken steps to curb the practice.

Thieves stole $134 million worth of gas nationwide in 2007, according to the Association for Convenience and Petroleum Retailing. That’s significantly less than the $300 million stolen in 2005, the year many retailers stopped allowing motorists to pump first and pay later.

Some stations are using low-tech solutions to deter drive-offs, like acknowledging the make, model and color of each car that pulls up to the pump. That way, it’s obvious that someone can identify the vehicle and the person pumping the gas-even if the license plate is incorrect. Related story

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