People are putting Ring doorbells on their cars to stop gas thieves

With gas prices continuing to soar, some people have come up with a very unique way to protect their car from potential gas thieves.

In a now-viral video that was uploaded to TikTok on June 10, user @outdoorsfishing1 revealed that he has installed a Ring doorbell - a surveillance camera triggered by motion - next to his gas tank.

The TikTok video has an overlay text that read: "With gas prices over $7 in California ain’t no mofo stealing my gas," along with, "[G]ot ring installed."

As of this writing, the video has been viewed more than 9.2 million times and has 397.4K likes on the social media platform.

While it's not the most conventional use of a ring doorbell, it has led to an influx of comments from users writing that they understand the struggle of increasing petrol prices.

One user joked: "At this point, it costs less to replace the camera than fill up your tank!"

Another user shared: "When a ring camera is cheaper than gas."

A third commented: "That really isn’t a bad idea."

A fourth wrote: "Dang @Ring we gonna [need] a camera for our car gas tank area…"

Ring Video Doorbells are smart doorbells manufactured by Ring. Even the official company TikTok account weighed in on the viral video, adding a simple "Hi" to the comment section.

And - amazingly - this is not the first time images of Ring doorbells being used to deter gas thieves, as an image showing multiple car owners utilizing the tech was shared on social media earlier this year:

Ring, which is owned by Amazon, revealed in September that it would soon be launching an in-vehicle dash cam, as well as plans to release a car alarm device.

The device is originally designed to improve your home’s security by giving you a sight of whoever or whatever is at your door. The two-way speakers allow you to speak to the person at the door, such as guests or delivery personnel.

While using a Ring doorbell next to your gas tank may be an innovative idea for a few reasons, it is also a relatively unknown concept to others.

To use your Doorbell successfully, you’ll need a Wi-Fi connection so that it can upload to the Cloud. Unless the user only planned to observe their vehicle outside of their home, you’d have to either use your phone’s mobile hotspot.

In recent months, gas prices have increased nationwide due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, as countries in the West pushed to restrict oil imports from Russia as a response to the country’s invasion.

Due to the fact that gas station owners aren't regulated, they can determine how much of a profit they want to make off each gallon of gas after receiving the prices from their supplier.

Featured image credit: I&Z / Alamy.