Computer Glitch Causes Gas Free-for-All
PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Some Michigan motorists could face misdemeanor charges after discovering that because of a computer glitch they could swipe their drivers' licenses instead of credit cards to gas up for free at the pumps outside the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Meijer chain, reported the Associated Press.
A total of 107 people figured it out, many of them students from nearby colleges in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor.
In some cases people got as many as 15 fill-ups over a three-week period. Meijer got taken for thousands of dollars.
Company officials at first thought they were dealing with credit-card fraud. They later realized the numbers belonged to driver's licenses. But it turns out the information from each transaction with a drivers' license was stored on computer and police are tracking down the culprits. Prosecutors say people who didn't pay for gas are likely to face misdemeanor charges.
Driver's licenses also worked at Meijer's stations in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois, but no fraudulent transactions were discovered there. The glitch has since been fixed.
A total of 107 people figured it out, many of them students from nearby colleges in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor.
In some cases people got as many as 15 fill-ups over a three-week period. Meijer got taken for thousands of dollars.
Company officials at first thought they were dealing with credit-card fraud. They later realized the numbers belonged to driver's licenses. But it turns out the information from each transaction with a drivers' license was stored on computer and police are tracking down the culprits. Prosecutors say people who didn't pay for gas are likely to face misdemeanor charges.
Driver's licenses also worked at Meijer's stations in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois, but no fraudulent transactions were discovered there. The glitch has since been fixed.