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toronto cops offer tips on how to avoid taxi scams

toronto police are alerting the public about an increas...

by jane stevenson
published dec 06, 2024
read time 1 minute read
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read time 1 minute read
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toronto police are alerting the public about an increase in reported taxi scams outside of venues such as theatres, arenas and transit hubs. cops say in many cases the driver will refuse cash and demand a payment by debit card or a second person, posing as a passenger, may also ask you for help paying with a debit or credit card in exchange for cash.
police say the goal is for the scammer to obtain the customer’s pin by entering it into a fake payment terminal before the driver then switches the customer’s card with another one.
fake debit terminals appear to be older, without a tap function, and typically have a grey screen with no backlight while newer terminals have a bright blue or green screen, police say.
victims are urged to report any suspected taxi scams to the toronto police non-emergency line at 416-808-2222 or, if you are in immediate danger, call 911.
otherwise, here are the following tips to help protect you from taxi scams:
– if you think the terminal may be fake, input the wrong pin. a fake terminal will always say “payment approved,” even after the wrong pin while a legitimate terminal would say “invalid pin, please try again.”
– if you think you have been asked for payment from a fake terminal, take the card out and keep it for fingerprinting.
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– never challenge the driver and immediately exit the taxi and, if safe, take pictures of the taxi and taxi number.
– call your bank or login to your banking app to lock or cancel your card.
– when you get your new card, sign the back with a unique-coloured pen so you can immediately recognize it.
jane stevenson
jane stevenson

jane stevenson has been a toronto sun columnist since 1995, the majority of that time as music critic with an avid interest in film (including tiff every year) and tv. more recently she's added news to her portfolio recalling her vancouver journalism beginnings in radio and print (cjor, cp/bn) although she also worked in tv as an entertainment reporter/anchor (ckvu) out west before getting a transfer to cp/bn in toronto. she's a graduate of the bcit broadcast journalism program and went to ubc for her first year where she studied second-year creative writing.

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