Police arrest boy, 14, in Toronto taxi scam days after woman’s experience goes viral

Toronto police have arrested a 14-year-old boy connected to a taxi cab scam investigation.

Authorities were made aware of a potential scamming incident on Monday, Oct. 17, at a mall parking lot in the Markham Road and Lawrence Avenue East area in Scarborough.

Toronto police detailed the attempt at committing fraud, saying a vehicle resembling a taxi will park in a high-traffic area, such as a mall parking lot, where one suspect poses as a driver and another as a customer.

The two suspects will pretend to have an argument over cash payments not being accepted in the cab due to COVID-19. Police say an unsuspecting victim will help the customer by paying with a credit or debit card in exchange for cash.

While the victim is distracted, one of the suspects exchanges the victim’s card for another card after it has been inserted into a modified terminal. The machine will then record the victim’s debit or credit card data and PIN number.

The suspects will proceed to make fraudulent transactions using the victim’s card.

Police observed a suspected fake taxi cab on Oct. 17 and arrested a 14-year-old boy, who was charged with possessing property obtained by crime over $5,000.

The young man was not identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA). He will make a court appearance on Dec. 14, 2022.

RELATED: GTA police services warn of ongoing, year-long fake taxi scam

The arrest comes two days after a woman claimed to have been approached by a teenage boy in Toronto asking if she could pay for his taxi cab fare with a debit or credit card.

Saja Kilani shared a video on TikTok detailing her experience on Sunday, Oct. 16, when she was walking on Bay Street and Yorkville Avenue.

“He said could you help me with something? I just took this taxi here, and [the driver] doesn’t take cash; he only takes cards,” Kilani says in the video. “He showed me the money on him. I thought if I were in that situation, I’d want someone to help me.”

Kilani says she agreed to help the boy but quickly noticed something peculiar.

“As soon as I did that, the boy was really trying to get my attention. He kept saying if you want to give [the driver] a tip, I can give you extra money. He was fidgeting a little bit.”

The woman says after she paid and her card was returned, she noticed it was, in fact, not her card but someone else’s. She leaned inside the window of the alleged taxi cab and demanded her actual card from the suspected driver.

“His first response was, ‘Oh, you saw that?’ and he starts laughing,” Kilani continued. “The kid gets in the car, obviously in on it… what is so absurd to me is that he kept trying to defend himself.”

Kilani then told both suspects she planned on recording them on her phone. She says they proceeded to put on a face covering, taunting her that she wouldn’t be able to see their faces.

“I hope this doesn’t happen to anyone,” she said.

Toronto police are urging members of the public to be extra vigilant when using taxi cabs and to never leave a debit or credit card unattended inside a point-of-sale terminal at any time.