Watch out for fake taxi driving around Guelph, police say

Police searching for fake taxi drivers From CTV Kitchener's Carmen Wong: Guelph police are searching for two men who they say were reportedly driving a fake taxi over the weekend.

KITCHENER — Guelph police are looking for two people they say were driving a fake taxi throughout the city over the long weekend.

A total of five calls came in from the public, starting around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday about two men driving around the downtown core in what appeared to be a fake taxi.

The men would reportedly approach people, with one man posing as a passenger who was unable to pay his fare because the driver was refusing to accept cash during the pandemic.

Police say the man would then ask the person to pay their fare with a debit or credit card and the passenger would give them that cash.

It's believed the occupants of the cab were capturing data from the good Samaritans’ cards and then giving them back a card that was not theirs. One caller reported that they drove off with her card.

Another caller reported to police on Monday, that he was out for a walk Saturday evening when he was approached by a man in the parking lot of the Church of Our Lady. The victim provided his debit card to cover the $7 fare and in exchange, the passenger gave him $10 cash.

According to police, the victim later realized the card returned to him was not his. He checked his online banking and discovered his card had been used for $226 in purchases as well as a $500 online transfer.

Officials are warning the public to use caution when it comes to ridesharing vehicles.

"Don't hand over your Visa card or debit card unless you know who you're handing it to," said Scott Tracey of Guelph police. "Make sure you keep your eye on it so it can't be swapped out for another one."

Another caller told police around midnight they thought they saw the car in question, but officers were unable to locate it and confirm it was the same vehicle.

"We don't believe it was a case of trying to get someone into a vehicle, it was more of trying to compromise their card in this case," said Tracey.

The car is described as an older black Crown Victoria with a faded ‘Beck Taxi’ sign on the roof.

Guelph police are still looking for the vehicle and two males described as Middle Eastern, in their mid 20s, and with dark hair.

Guelph resident Brooke Richards says she almost fell for the fake taxi scam on her Saturday evening walk through Royal City Park.

She says a man posing as a passenger told her the cab driver would not accept cash because of the pandemic and asked to use her debit card in exchange for the cash.

"He was younger and it seemed like he was in distress because he couldn't pay his cab fare, so we were like, 'oh no, the guy needs help,'" Richards said. "It seemed very genuine."

Richards says she only hesitated once the man told her the cost of the cab fare.

"No cab ride is seven dollars, so I was a little suspicious after that. I'm glad we realized that it was fake," she said. "Guelph is a nice city. It's hard to believe someone like that would target people like us who were just walking at the park."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Guelph police or Crime Stoppers.