Richmond fake taxi scam prompts warning from police
Posted April 27, 2022 4:16 pm.
Last Updated April 27, 2022 6:11 pm.
Richmond Mounties are warning people about a scam that involves a fake taxi, driver, and passenger.
RCMP have received seven reports since April 22, about a young man approaching people and asking them to help him pay for his cab.
When a person agreed, the fake taxi driver said he does not accept cash due to COVID-19, nor credit cards, and the tap function on his debit machine isn’t working. After a person handed over their debit card and entered their pin, the fake taxi driver gave them a bogus debit card.
Later, the victims noticed several charges on their debit cards they did not make, some of which involved hundreds of dollars.
“This scam appears to be a new one for the City of Richmond, but already we have had seven victims report the matter to police in the past few days,” Cpl. Ian Henderson wrote in a release. “Our Frontline and Economic Crime Unit investigators are working diligently to identify and locate the suspects. Meantime, we believe there is a need to warn the public of this fraudulent activity.”
The fake taxi is described as a white Toyota Camry with a white taxi sign on top, while both suspects are described as men in their early 20s.
Anyone with information on this case can contact Richmond RCMP at 604-278-1212, quoting file number 2202-10686, or anonymously call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
