Gas too expensive? No problem -- if you've got hidden gas tanks and fake credit cards

Five Orlando men who gassed up their pickup trucks at a Gibsonton Wal-Mart Supercenter last month may have found the perfect way to avoid paying too much for fuel.

According to the authorities, they used hidden tanks in their trucks so they could take up to 1,000 gallons of diesel at a time, which they could then resell.

The hidden tanks held 1,000 gallons, so officials figure that the men's profit per load topped $4,000. And how did they plan to pay for all this?

"They used counterfeit credit cards," said Maj. Bob Johnson, enforcement chief at the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, told the St. Petersburg Times. "One guy had 47 cards on him."

As you might suspect, state officials are now warning everyone that the rate of fuel theft appears to be increasing. So guard that gas tank!

[AP photo]

--Craig Pittman