Introduction
Fuel costs management is a complex process, more so when you take into account the consequences and risks of fuel fraud. Fuel fraud is, unfortunately, a fact of life we cannot run away from. Also, it is costly to businesses, which is why you need to know how to spot and stop it. The things you should be scrutinizing closely include:
- Is the amount of fuel indicated on the receipt higher than the maximum capacity of the vehicle’s tank?
- Do mileage figures that the drivers provide tally with odometer readings
- Have the drivers bought the right fuel type?
If you note discrepancies from the above questions, you could be a fuel fraud victim.
What are the common fuel card crimes you need to be aware of?
There are many ways in which fuel fraud manifest itself. Therefore, to prevent it, you must be aware of the different types of fuel cards UK fraud and how they take place. They include the following:
. Mileage Creeping
This is where drivers or employees inflate mileage figures when doing fuel reclaims. It is among the most used fuel fraud crimes.
. Fuel Deceit
Fuel deceit involves numerous fraudulent activities that include fueling non-approved vehicles, side fueling, and over-fueling. Side fueling refers to a situation where the driver carries a separate container and fills it with fuel that they will use for their reasons.
. Fuel Card Fraud
This is a disturbingly popular type of fraud and it refers to exaggerating fuel card transactions. Other forms of fuel card fraud include sharing fuel cards and also authorizing several pump purchases.
. Fuel Type Fraud
It refers to buying the incorrect type of fuel. This usually means that the driver made purchases for an unapproved vehicle.
. Fuel Syphoning
Here, the drivers fill up the tank with fuel and later remove it from the vehicle’s tank, usually for personal use. The driver may also refuel their vehicles.
There are several forms of fuel cards UK fraud as you can see. But the good news is that, when you are vigilant and constantly check receipts, you can stop it.
. Is it possible to prevent Fuel Card Fraud?
The straightforward answer is that it is indeed possible to prevent fuel card fraud. If anything, there are several ways of cracking down on this type of fraud, but some methods tend to be time-consuming especially if they use manual processes.
In this section, we discuss some practical and preventive solutions for stopping fuel card fraud:
Allocating Fuel Cards and PIN Numbers
The first advantage of allocating fuel cards is that it gives you a lot of control over the buying of fuel. Also, it is best if drivers are prompted to enter PINs when using fuel cards. It makes it harder for employees to swap fuel cards UK. At the same time, it enables you to easily perform fraud checks.
Implementing Fuel Limits
Several fuel cards UK have a pre-funding option, which means drivers are allowed to top op only to a given amount.
Checking Refueling Frequencies
If a driver is stopping several times on a day or route, it could be a red flag to potential mischief. If the answer is in the affirmative, it could point to double-billing. The best way to unearth this type of fraud is by performing frequent refuelling checks.
Conducting Manual Cross-checks
This is another method to spot and prevent fuel card fraud. Check all bank statements and receipts keenly to be sure that your drivers are giving you the full picture. But because it is a manual process, it takes a lot of time and is prone to errors.
Highlighting Consequences
Make sure that your drivers or employees are fully aware of the consequences should they be caught practising fuel card fraud. Let them know that fuel fraud of any nature is a criminal offence punishable by law.
Common Challenges
Implementing fuel card protection strategies is far from smooth sailing. You are likely to run into challenges, which we discuss here, as well as potential solutions to these challenges.
Fueling an Authorized Vehicle
One of the most common ways drivers abuse fuel cards UK is by filling vehicles that don’t belong to the company fleet. You can liken it to using one pump to fuel two different vehicles.
Using fleet management software, supervisors or business owners can get notifications of fraudulent activities through the identification of accurate mileage reading. The software will also alert you of the fuel tank size of the vehicle; the amount of fuel bought, and the average fuel economy. This information will help you to discover potential purchase discrepancies.
Inflating Business Mileage
The other common technique that rogue drivers use to commit fuel fraud is by inflating the mileage of business trips when fueling up.
Fleet managers are encouraged to use fleet management software to uncover this fraudulent practice. The software compares mileage with integrated telematics data. This uses GPS to capture the time and date of the trip.
Conclusion
Fuel expenses represent a big part of the operating costs of a fleet, and, through ensuring your organization has a means of recording and auditing both personal and business mileage, you can keep these costs in check and even eliminate fraud.
The truth of the matter is that paper processes simply don’t work when you want to tackle fuel fraud. Instead, use fleet management database software that has analytical and reporting tools. They get rid of administrative problems of paper or spreadsheets, and also automate driver and manager communication on things such as the wrong type of fuel.
It is also okay to adopt other semi-automated processes. However, a lot of importance needs to be put on driver education on fuel fraud to allow them to think more quickly and smartly.
This is the surest way to eliminate fuel card fraud and save money that can be used on other aspects of your business. Care should, however, be taken to make drivers be your allies and not your enemies. Even if a few drivers are engaging in fraudulent activities, chances are that the majority will toe the line.