Here is the most recent taxi fraud scam that Toronto Police are warning residents to beware of.

Police say the victims usually wave down a taxi cab and request a ride to a destination.

On arrival, the cabbie insists that the victim pay with debit, police said, adding the driver may make excuses about not having change and not accepting credit payment.
“The taxi driver provides the victim with a counterfeit debit machine,” police state. “The victim inserts the debit card into the machine and enters the PIN number associated to the card.”

Police said the counterfeit debit machine records the victim’s PIN .

“After the transaction, the driver swaps the victim’s card with another card from the same financial institution,” according to police.

They said the driver now has access to the victim’s debit card and PIN.

Officer also warn of another version of the same scam. This time it takes place in a vehicle resembling a taxi parked in a high-traffic area. The person claiming to be the driver and another posing as a customer are having a loud argument about the driver refusing to take cash due to COVID-19.

Police said a good Samaritan overhears the argument and offers to pay with their own debit card the cab fare for cash.

The good Samaritan inputs their PIN number for their debit card into the modified machine, which records their PIN.

They are given a duplicate card that looks like theirs and the customer and driver are long gone to empty their account.