Gas thieves who wanted to steal fuel from vehicles used to siphon it, but there's a new gas-stealing scheme, one drivers can easily prevent if they know about it.

The crime is similar to a gas drive-off, but the thieves rip off the customers, not the station.

The customer pays at the pump, puts the nozzle in their tank and then goes into the store while their tank fills up. Then the thief -- parked on the other side of the pump -- removes the nozzle from the customer's tank and puts it in theirs.

"When you come back out, the hose is laying on the ground … and it's off. The money's gone," said Patrick Gilbert.

Gilbert, who works at the Troost Market, said it has happened two or three times at his gas station.

Craig Scott, of Kansas City, Mo., said he never leaves his car unattended while the gas is pumping.

"People always say, 'Oh, well you're real negative,' and I think, 'No. When things are bad, people do stupid things,'" Scott said.

Nikki Daniel didn't believe it was the right thing to do, but she said she could understand why someone would do it.

"Well, I'm not going to say I vouch it, but I can kind of understand why somebody would need to do that with gas (almost $3.70) a gallon," Daniel said.

To protect themselves, customers should stay with their cars until their transactions are complete.