London police are warning the public about a scam involving a taxi and a person claiming to need help paying the fare.
Several victims throughout the city have reported being approached by a suspect asking for help paying for a taxi, says the London Police Service Financial Crime Unit.
In each instance, the suspect was in or near a vehicle that looked like a taxi and asked the victim for assistance paying the fare because the taxi driver would not accept cash due to COVID-19, with a promise to repay them in cash, police said.
The victim is then given a debit machine to pay the fare using their debit card.
Police say the victims later learned large sums of money were stolen removed from their accounts, and that the debit card returned to them was not theirs but a lookalike.
The suspects involved in this complex scam are described as a male, aged 18 to 20, wearing a puffy jacket, Timberland boots, and black hat. The second suspect, also male, is around 40 years-old in all black clothing, a black hat, and wearing a medical mask.
The vehicle being used in the scam is described as a 4-door sedan with a fake taxi sign on the roof.
The vehicle is believed to be a 2014 Silver Nissan Altima, police said.
Police report that individual victims have been defrauded of $1,100 to $13,000, totalling approximately $100,000 altogether.
Members of the London Police Service Financial Crime Unit are interested in speaking with anyone who may have information related to this string of frauds.
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