According to the latest survey by the National Technical University of Athens, which was carried out on behalf of the Oil Trade Companies Association (SEEPE), nearly one in four stations in Attica shows deviations in fuel pumps, delivering a smaller quantity than that charged to the consumer.
The investigation took place in March and April 2026 with secret measurements at 200 stations in Attica and Thessaloniki, using specially equipped vehicles that could accurately calculate the actual amount of fuel that resulted in the tank.
The results show that in Attica the rate of delinquency is 23.1%, compared to 33.1% recorded in 2025. In Thessaloniki the corresponding percentage was set at 18.6%, from 20% the previous year. The picture shows improvement, but it still means that thousands of drivers pay daily for fuel they never receive.
Experts estimate that damage to the consumer is not always easy to understand. A deviation of 3% to 8% may mean that a 60-euro filling lacks fuel worth 2 to 5 euros. If this is repeated in any refueling, the loss within a year can reach tens or even hundreds of euros for each driver.
The phenomenon becomes even more serious when it comes to professional drivers, corporate fleets, transport companies and taxis, where fuel consumption is an important part of operating costs.
How fraud works
In most cases it is not mechanical pump alteration, but sophisticated electronic software that interferes with the operation of the measuring system. The driver sees on the screen that 40 litres were delivered, for example, but in fact in the tank they have come up with considerably less.
These interventions are particularly difficult to identify without specialized equipment, as illegal software can only be activated under specific conditions or specific times of the day.
It is no coincidence that large police operations carried out within 2026 identified organized circuits which installed illegal software in the pumps, while in several cases even used hidden computers to remote system control.
The big business of AADE and EL.A.
Combating fuel fraud is now a key priority for the audit authorities.
Within 2026 coordinated operations were carried out by AADE, the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and customs authorities, with dozens of simultaneous checks at stations throughout the country.
Businesses led to arrests, seizure of equipment and multi-annual sealing of stations using illegal software to reduce the actual amount of fuel delivered to customers.
At the same time, AADE now applies a much stricter framework of sanctions, which provides: sealing stations for up to two years, fines that can reach or even exceed 150,000 euros, removing licenses, stopping fuelling, publishing the data of offenders on the official website of AADE.
What changes with the new control systems
Authorities are now investing in new digital fuel market monitoring tools.
The upgraded input-output system is interconnected with the AADE databases, allowing faster detection of suspicious deviations between the quantities received by a station and those declared to be selling.
At the same time, large data analytics, targeted surprise controls and special technical equipment that can detect illegal interventions are now used even when these are disabled at the time of the check.
How to protect the driver
No measure can completely exclude the possibility of deception, but there are some practices that significantly reduce the risk.
Experts recommend refueling by well-known and reliable stations, maintaining market proof, monitoring the actual autonomy of the car after each filling and avoiding constant station changes without reason.
If a driver notices that suddenly his vehicle travels much less miles with the same amount of fuel or repeated unusual deviations appear, he should consider changing stations and, if there is serious indications, inform the competent authorities.
The picture shows that the situation is gradually improving in relation to previous years, mainly due to the tightening up of the controls and major companies of AADE and EL.A. However, the evidence proves that pump fraud is not a past. Therefore, continuing market surveillance and the use of modern technological instruments are considered necessary to protect both consumers and healthy businesses in the industry.
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