Warning issued after police say several people scammed by fake taxi in Waterloo Region

Waterloo regional police have issued a warning after several people reported being victims of a taxi fraud scam in the area.

Police say that between May 28 and June 4, four people said their debit cards were stolen by a scammer who posed as a taxi passenger who needed help to pay their fair.

In one case, a man was a passenger in a vehicle that looked like a cab near Ezra Street and Clayfield Avenue in Waterloo.

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The scammer said the driver would not take cash and offered to pay the victim back in cash for use of their card.

The victim then put their card into a point-of-sale machine and entered their PIN number to complete the transaction before giving the card back.

Police say the victim later discovered that the card that was returned was not theirs and that thieves had taken a large sum of money out of their bank account.

Police offered a number of steps that residents could follow to help avoid being duped in similar scams, including not leaving their card unattended and being aware of the names of local taxi companies.

They also said not to make payments for strangers in exchange for cash and to make sure you are getting the right card back after completing a sale.

“If there is an error code or the debit machine is not functioning, always remove your debit card before returning the machine for assistance,” a release from police warned.