STOP FUEL THEFT AT PETROL STATIONS
Fuel theft is a known problem for owners and managers of petrol stations. It not only causes a large loss of revenue, it also leads to unsafe situations for both employees and customers. AVUTEC has the best and proven solution to this problem by offering a system which drastically minimalizes fuel theft.
The Drive off Prevention System (DPS) uses (existing) cameras to read the number plates of incoming vehicles and compares these to a cloud-based , nationwide blacklist of previous drive offs. In case a match is found, an alarm at the POS terminal warns the cashier to act by, for instance, blocking the fuel pump. This early alert results not only in a decrease in the loss of revenue of a petrol station, it also makes employees feel more safe and secure as thieves will stay away.
Drive-off Prevention System
DPS is an off-the-shelf product to prevent fuel theft at petrol stations. The system is a combination of hardware and a subscription based service. The subscription provides the blacklist of the European drive off registry and gives access to a personalized management website. Updates for the software and the ANPR engine are included keeping the system up to date.
DPS hardware
- CortexServer: the AVUTEC ANPR server, to connect to IP cameras
- Gatekeeper-X: the AVUTEC standalone embedded ANPR camera
- One or more tablets to place at the checkout.
Nationwide blacklist
The nationwide blacklist is the DPS drive-off registry, that is filled by and shared among all connected petrol stations. A license plate placed on this list can only fuel up without paying once. A strict authorisation policy ensures only notorious offenders are added to the list.
Local blacklist
The local blacklist is kept at petrol station level to keep a license plate blacklisted until the fuel bill is paid. This license plate is only available for the individual petrol station, that reported the drive-off.
DPS management website
A secure account provides access to the DPS management website. Here newly added drive-offs are authorised and complemented with the loss amount and comments from the cashier or station manager. Comments, that will show up on the tablet next time the vehicle visits the station. All DPS installations can be managed within one account.
PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE
DPS recognizes the number plates of all incoming and refueling vehicles and instantly compares them to the cloud-based DPS registry. If a match is found, the tablet at the checkout sounds an alarm and shows a warning to act and prevent the drive off. The DPS tablet displays images of vehicles at the fuel pump, together with their corresponding number plates and additional car data when available*. This information can be compared to recognize a false number plate. If the car data* informs a red Volkswagen just entered the perimeter while the image on the tablet is showing a white Volvo, a simple comparison may stop a potential fuel theft.
Two step authorization
In case a non registered vehicle that commits fuel theft, it is easily added using the tablet. An image and the corresponding number plate are placed automatically on the local list of the petrol station and will generate an alarm the next time the license plate is recognized at the station it has been reported. To place a license plate on the European DPS registry, to alert all connected petrol stations, a two factor authorization is used. This drive-off license plate has to be authorized via the management website. Double checking a drive-off license plate will make sure the proper offender’s vehicle to be registered and prevents undesirable situations at the checkout.
*Car data is only available in countries with an accessible registry hosted by the government or by a certified institution for registration of vehicles.