How a $29 cab ride turned into a $2,500 scam

Taxi scams are not new in Toronto, but with the holidays just around the corner, one CityNews viewer who flagged down a fake cab driver and was conned out of hundreds of dollars is hoping to raise awareness to help other customers avoid being duped.

The viewer, who did not want to be identified, told CityNews he recently hailed a very realistic looking Co-op taxi after a night out in downtown Toronto.

After what he described as a pleasant ride home, he was told Visa payments were not working. The driver asked for his debit card, and he didn’t think twice about handing it over.

The driver “was able to build confidence during the ride,” he noted. When the transaction went through, the driver then snatched the terminal away with his card still in it.

What he didn’t realize at the time was that his debit card had been swapped, and the receipt said he was charged €29, not dollars.

He said he then realized he was scammed out of $2,500 when he was alerted about suspicious activity by his bank a short time later.

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“We’re understanding that it’s quite a successful scam if you can get away with it,” Beck Taxi Operations Manager Kristine Hubbard told CityNews.

She said the company is aware of at least one Beck-branded cab, stolen in October, that’s being used to scam customers, and as far as it knows, the fake taxi is still hitting the streets.

“This is a public transit system, really, and if it was a stolen bus picking people up, I think it would be a priority. But I do think the City of Toronto Municipal Licensing & Standards has a huge role to play here,” she said.

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In a statement, the City of Toronto said in part, “Taxicab brokers, owners and drivers are required to be licensed according to the Licensing of Vehicles-for-Hire Bylaw. The City is aware of this issue, and bylaw enforcement officers continue to enforce the licensing requirements of the bylaw.”

Per City rules, taxis much display their taxicab plate on the rear of the vehicle, with the number posted on the side door, and have a roof light. A driver photo card must be displayed on the dash, and the taxicab bill of rights and tariff card should both be located on the back of the passenger seat.

But Hubbard said, beyond customer awareness, the City is lacking strong enforcement given the sheer number of vehicles licensed to drive people around Toronto, adding the City has turned its back on the industry.

“Now we’re hearing about taxi plates or taxi roof lights that are being put on private vehicles,” said Hubbard. “What our City has done is allowed a free-for-all, and they’re not able to manage this system.”

Toronto Police could not say how many reports related to taxi scams have been filed in the last few months but told CityNews it’s investigating a case of fraud involving the stolen Beck Taxi.

In the end, the victim who spoke to CityNews got his money back from his bank. But he said he’s hoping other Torontonians will learn from his mistakes.