Surveillance footage from a California gas station captured the moment the thief swapped the nozzles on the pumps

A man is in hot water after he was caught swapping gas-pump nozzles at a service station in Roseville, California in order to cheat another driver into paying for his fuel, according to the Daily Mail.

The thief, driving a Mercedes-Benz, executed the scam on an unsuspecting driver parked on the opposite side of the pump, who ended up paying for his refill.

“Please remember that at any gas station, your hose nozzle will always be on the same side as the holster the hose will never cross over the pump,” wrote assistant manager Christopher Torcher on social media. “Please be safe out there.”

The video shows the suspect, who was wearing a black jacket, switching out the nozzles and walking in between the pumps. After stepping toward his black Mercedes, he waits for the next person to pull up at the opposite pump from his before making the switch.

No other cars were around him at the time of the incident. Police say similar incidents have taken place in the area.

“They, on the other side of the island, are actually using your nozzle to steal gas. We’ve seen a few cases historically where this has worked, and we have been able to, fortunately, catch people,’ Roseville Police public information officer Rob Baquera told ABC 10.

The amount that the unsuspecting driver ended up paying is unclear. The suspect remains unidentified.

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