November 9, 2026 at 3:25 pm

He Suspected Someone Was Taking His Team’s Fuel, But His Payback Plan Meant Their Cars Didn’t Get Very Far

by Chris Allen

gas cans on pickup truck

Shutterstock

Stealing fuel cans can become an expensive mistake.

One landscaping crew kept losing costly containers from its work trucks.

Eventually, the workers switched the fuel inside each labeled can.

Another thief soon grabbed the bait.

Let’s get into the full story.

Revenge on the thieves

I used to run a crew for a landscaping company.

People love to steal the gas cans off the trucks.

One day, we had to get all new cans because they got stolen.

These cans aren’t cheap. They run around $60 each plus fuel.

This man switched the contents of the fuel cans.

When we went to fill them, we filled the diesel cans with gas.

We filled the gas cans with diesel.

A couple weeks later, we came to find the gas cans stolen and had a slight laugh.

We packed up and headed to our next stop only to find our gas cans on the side of the road empty.

They saw a brand-new Cadillac Escalade in the middle of the road.

We picked them up and drove on down the road.

We then found a brand-new Cadillac Escalade sitting in the middle of the road dead.

We simply waved and went on about our day.

This happened quite often, but that first time was the best.

I still remember the look on their faces as we drove past.

They continued to do this trick.

I have no idea how many mowers and cars got damaged as a consequence of theft from those trucks.

After we told the owner, all the tanks got switched on every truck.

Sometimes, we would set a tank filled with something really bad in a very tempting location.

Let’s see how others reacted to this story.

Brilliant idea, says this one.

Screenshot 2025 11 02 at 4.27.39 PM He Suspected Someone Was Taking His Team’s Fuel, But His Payback Plan Meant Their Cars Didn’t Get Very Far

This user shares their personal thoughts.

Screenshot 2025 11 02 at 4.28.08 PM He Suspected Someone Was Taking His Team’s Fuel, But His Payback Plan Meant Their Cars Didn’t Get Very Far

Here’s a good analogy.

Screenshot 2025 11 02 at 4.28.32 PM He Suspected Someone Was Taking His Team’s Fuel, But His Payback Plan Meant Their Cars Didn’t Get Very Far

People are curious about the “very bad” can.

Screenshot 2025 11 02 at 4.28.48 PM He Suspected Someone Was Taking His Team’s Fuel, But His Payback Plan Meant Their Cars Didn’t Get Very Far

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee who decided to stop being so helpful when aiding coworkers cost him a promotion.

Finally, short and simple.

Screenshot 2025 11 02 at 4.29.28 PM He Suspected Someone Was Taking His Team’s Fuel, But His Payback Plan Meant Their Cars Didn’t Get Very Far

This landscaping crew reversed the fuel inside its gas and diesel cans before another thief stole them.

The workers later recovered their containers beside the road and passed a disabled luxury SUV shortly afterward.

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