Halton police warn customers not to hand over debit cards to crooked cabbies

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Published November 11, 2020 at 9:00 am

A ploy by taxi drivers to steal your debit card and pin number may be working its way into Halton.

Although there are variations of the way the scam operates, victims are usually targeted once their ride is over and it is time to pay.

According to several police reports across Ontario, the driver makes excuses on why cash or credit cards can’t be accepted and insists that a debit card be used.

Then a fake machine is used to capture the card’s pin number.
The driver then swaps out the debit card and hands back a fake card to the customer.

Police say the scam is sophisticated and the taxi driver will give back the fake card that looks like it comes from the same banking institution as the original.

Then, with the real card and pin number captured, the crooked cabby can go to a bank machine and have free access to funds.

Halton Regional Police are telling customers to be careful when handing over debit cards to taxi drivers and to report any instances of this crime.

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