It's not a crime, but ...

Swiping your debit card at the gas station may be convenient, but it can put a hold on the money in your bank account. To cover your gas purchase, banks place a hold on your funds. The amount varies, maybe $50 or even $100. The bank's rationale for doing this is that it doesn't know how much money you are spending until you've finished pumping.

Of course the dollar amount of gas that you may have purchased may be less than the funds held out by the bank. Problem is, it can take up to seven days from the date of your gas purchase before the unused funds the bank has held becomes available to you.

Herb