Guelph police warn of taxi scam

A vehicle and a suspect are seen in these undated images. (Courtesy: Guelph Police Service)

Two suspects may be running a fake taxi scam in Guelph.

A local taxi driver told the Guelph Police Service that her rooftop sign had been stolen from her cab while it was parked on Macdonell Street on Tuesday around 10:30 p.m.

Surveillance video showed a white Cadillac SUV circling the downtown area before the driver dropped off a male passenger.

The suspect approached the legitimate taxi and removed the sign. He carried the sign back to the Cadillac parked near Wyndham Street and Carden Street and climbed inside. He was wearing all black clothing with some white designs.

After that incident, police said they have received at least three reports of men in a black SUV with a yellow taxi sign on the roof approaching people in parking lots.

A male in the vehicle claimed to be a passenger and said the driver would not accept cash. The suspect then asked his victims to use their debit card to cover his taxi far in exchange for cash.

One person refused the request, but two other people tried to help the male and later realized their debit cards had been swapped, and the suspects had taken off with their real card. In one case, the victim’s bank account was immediately emptied out at a nearby ATM.

The suspects are described as men in their late 20s or early 30s and were possibly Indian or Middle Eastern.