Fuel is one of the largest—and most scrutinized—expenses in any public fleet budget. When gallons go missing or unauthorized transactions slip through, it's not just a financial issue, it can severely impact public trust. 

Yet, when it comes to fuel management, many government agencies still rely on siloed systems and reactive oversight, which can make it difficult to catch fuel misuse until it’s too late. Here’s what fuel fraud can look like on today’s roads, and how Samsara and RoadFlex can help you prevent it. 

Common types of fuel fraud—and their impact to your bottom line

Unfortunately, unscrupulous drivers have figured out a variety of ways to commit fuel fraud. These include: 

• Buddy fills, where a second vehicle refuels on a single transaction at a pump

• Personal use, where a driver uses a government-issued card for non-fleet vehicles

• Off-route fueling, where drivers fuel up outside of authorized areas or schedules

• Misreported odometer readings, which drivers use to mask unauthorized usage

Without integrated controls, it’s nearly impossible to spot these behaviors before they impact your finances or trigger an audit, and even modest misuse can cost thousands of dollars annually. 

For example, a forthcoming RoadFlex customer survey finds that a single driver fueling a personal vehicle just twice a week can cost an agency over $4,000 per year. In another scenario, if just 10% of a fleet misuses their fuel cards, a mid-size agency could be losing $50,000 or more every year.

And that’s just the cost in fuel. These figures don’t account for the time spent manually reconciling suspicious activity or responding to audit findings. No matter how you measure the cost, fuel fraud is a serious issue that can quickly damage an agency’s budget and reputation.

Samsara and RoadFlex offer a new standard for accountability

In response to issues like these, Samsara and RoadFlex have partnered to help public sector fleets detect and prevent fuel fraud in real time. The integration works by combining vehicle telematics from Samsara that capture real-time location data and vehicle status. RoadFlex uses this information to help match each fuel transaction to a particular location and odometer reading. Advanced policy logic flags or blocks purchases that don’t match authorized criteria, and finance and fleet teams receive actionable, easy-to-read reports for efficient oversight and auditing purposes. 

With Samsara and RoadFlex, public agencies can catch fuel fraud earlier or prevent it altogether with instant alerts for policy violations. Agencies can also spend far fewer hours reviewing fuel statements line by line to detect problems.  

Designed for public sector oversight

Built with transparency and accountability in mind, the Samsara and RoadFlex integrated solution is ideal for municipalities, school districts, public utilities, and state agencies. Whether you’re preparing for a financial audit or trying to stretch a limited budget, Samsara and RoadFlex ensure every gallon is defensible. Best of all, Samsara and RoadFlex are now available through Carahsoft, which means agencies can skip lengthy RFP cycles and purchase through a cooperative contract while meeting all compliance requirements.

If you’re ready to learn more about how much fuel fraud your agency can prevent, request a demo to see Samsara and RoadFlex in action and get a custom fraud risk assessment based on your fleet data.