Taxi scams are ‘very prevalent’ in Canada. Here’s how to spot them

globalnews.ca:

fake roof signs that have recently been reported in several cities.In a statement on Wednesday, the group said that there has been a rash of scams and cons involving fake taxis, mostly in Ontario, where a team of two people pretends to be a distressed passenger and taxi driver.The group said such incidents were reported by police in Toronto, Sarnia, Sudbury and Ottawa.“I wouldn’t call it on the rise, but it’s very prevalent,” said Canadian Taxi Association president Marc Andre Way in an interview with Global News.“It seems to be moving from one city to the other.”Way said the CTA suspects it might be the same group moving from city to city, but they’re not sure.The scam involves a fake passenger approaching a passerby and saying their taxi driver will not take cash, which Way said is a red flag.Drivers not only accept cash, but often prefer cash,” he said.The fraudster then offers to give cash to the targeted victim in exchange for using their debit or credit card.“The scammer posing as the taxi driver then swipes the card and steals the target’s Personal Identification Number (PIN), later to drain their bank account or fraudulently use their credit card,” the CTA said in its release.In Sarnia, at least 12 such incidents were reported last month, resulting in individual losses ranging from $980 to $9,900, according to police.The Ottawa Police Service also said in a statement on Monday that it has recently received several complaints concerning people being defrauded after offering assistance in paying with their personal credit or bank card for a taxi or Uber fare.The CTA said it has taken up the issue of the generic “Taxi” signs with Amazon, requesting the company in a letter to stop selling them online as they are