If you’ve ever lived in or visited the Garden State, then you’re familiar with other people pumping your gasoline. TikToker Nikki Bells (@nikkibell5353) wasn’t in New Jersey when she noticed someone else was fueling up her vehicle. She was at Circle K.
Finding the entire situation hilarious, she recorded a woman she never met before, putting gas into her car at a Circle K. In a viral TikTok that’s accrued over 767,000 views, she documented her humored reaction to the incident.
Full service?
“Y’all, this lady think that her truck is my truck,” she begins from the interior of her car. “Like, I’ll lie till you’re not. I can’t even tell her, that this is not her truck.”
She changes the camera orientation to record her side-view mirror. A reflection of the woman is seen at the pump.
The Circle K customer, while on the phone, places the pump inside of the car’s fuel repository. She then begins pouring as Bells continues to laugh and narrate in the video.
“Y’all. I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what to do,” she says. “What in the world! She’s pumping my gas.” The woman continues to speak into the phone as she puts gasoline into Bells’ vehicle.
Toward the end of the clip, however, the woman seems to realize what’s happening. She looks down at the fuel handle and then back to the screen on the pump as the video comes to a close.
Follow-ups
Numerous viewers assumed that the woman had paid for the gas she was pumping. However, Bells clarified in another clip that this wasn’t the case. Then, in a third video, Bells shared a snippet of a recorded interaction she had with the woman.
In it, they can be heard exchanging laughter while commenting that they have “the same car.” Bells, at one point, begins pantomiming to the woman that she was on the phone, preoccupied with her conversation. This elicits even more laughter from the gas-pumping patron and the two sound off in further joint cackling.
Next, another video shows Bells with the woman, side by side. They smile into the camera and the gas pumper flashes a stern thumbs-up. Furthermore, she explained to a curious commenter about who paid for who’s gasoline.
Bells told the TikToker that they each paid for their own fuel at Circle K. She also added that whoever she was on the other line with engaged in a particularly “juicy” conversation. As a result, the woman was preoccupied.
How did it happen?
As stated throughout many of her videos, Bells says the two of them had the same type of car when they pulled up to Circle K. It appears that before the TikToker had the chance to start pumping her own gas, she saw a fellow driver doing it for her. She found the situation hilarious and sat in her car and recorded a video about the whole incident.
While Bells explained that this incident was indeed not a case of gas theft, there have been scams associated with gas pumps. One Redditor discussed a common scam, which is usually enacted by someone pretending to have altruistic intentions. They will inform someone whose car is getting filled up that they’ll cover it, then get gas for themselves on that driver’s dime.
Users on the app explained that this con is a common way for thieves to attempt to distract drivers. Oftentimes they will work with a partner, who tries stealing out of the mark’s truck while they’re engaged in conversation.
Other theft methods
Security business LVT referenced a case in a North Point, North Carolina BP station that saw 400 gallons finagled. According to the business’s blog post, the scammers used a “remote device” to activate the machines and make off with the unpaid fuel.
Another business specializing in pump security, Lot Guard claims that $200 million in fuel has been stolen from U.S. gas stations since 2021. In its post, the company pointed to the same North Carolina case, but featured others as well. Such as a Duncanville, Texas fueling station that had $27,000 worth of gasoline extracted from its reserves.
@nikkibell5353 I’m sorry it was funny . I DO NOT KNOW HER
#fyp #MYGOD #godisgood #spreadlove #funnyvideo #funnymoments #wrongcar #gasstationstorytime #circlek #mistakenidentity ♬ original sound – Nikki Bells
Glitches
Of course, sometimes consumers can find exploits in technology. Like this one woman who noticed that scanning her rewards card twice at a gas pump triggered its demo mode. By enabling the demo, the fuel pump dispensed gasoline without requiring payment.
As it turns out, a software update is what caused this to occur. The 45-year-old woman, upon learning of this exploit, fueled up at the station for free for 6 months without detection. However, video surveillance footage ended up catching her in the act, and she faced criminal charges for multiple offenses.
Moreover, she wasn’t the only one using the rewards card hack. She purportedly allowed someone else to use the card for a fee. They paid her $500 to use the card, filling up their own vehicle(s) with $700 worth of fuel for themselves.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Bells via TikTok comment.
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