Toronto shopper catches alleged taxi scammer in the act

A Toronto shopper caught what they allege is a scammer in action, using an imitation taxi to extort innocent people in a store parking lot.

The resident, who prefers to remain anonymous and sent the tip to blogTO, also shared photos and video of the incident on Reddit yesterday, referencing a known scam that has drawn attention from local police and media lately.

Toronto police warn of new fake taxi debit card scam https://t.co/UjvoLZH8Dt #Toronto #TorontoPolice #Scam

— blogTO (@blogTO) February 10, 2021

"Caught the 'fake taxi' scam in action at the Downsview Costco," he wrote on the platform, explaining that he witnessed a man get out of the back of a very sketchy-looking taxi and approach a woman loading groceries into her car nearby.

He immediately became suspicious of the interaction given that the "taxi" was simply a silver sedan with a generic, phony-looking taxi sign on top, and he watched closely.

Toronto police warn of weird taxi scam with fake driver and customer https://t.co/wwQndVJqyP #Toronto #TorontoPolice #Scam #TaxiScam

— blogTO (@blogTO) November 13, 2020

"Something seemed off to me right away, but it was when I drove closer to the vehicle that the scammer got out of and saw the 'taxi' sign on top that I knew what was going on," he wrote, explaining that in the scam, a person posing as a customer claims their taxi driver won't accept cash, and asks if a victim can cover the ride on debit in exchange for the cash amount.

In the process, the victim's card information gets stolen via a counterfeit debit machine, enabling the criminals to make a copy to withdraw funds or make extravagant purchases at the victim's expense.

The witness states they did not see any cards or cash exchanged between the man and the potential victim, thankfully, and also contacted non-emergency police to report the event.

"After his failed attempt and while walking back to the fake taxi, I rolled down the window to yell 'Why are you scamming people bro!?' and he smirked and jumped into the car real quick," he continues, adding similar advice that the cops have issued in light of the popular fraud.

"Be careful out there and warn your friends and family, especially older relatives. Use common sense, a taxi driver or delivery driver would NEVER refuse cash. Never hand your cards over to some random person on the street."