An Aussie traveller who took a taxi from Sydney Airport is warning others to be vigilant after he says his bank card was “skimmed” by the driver, and multiple payments were subsequently drained from his account. Although rare, card skimming has plagued the taxi industry in the past, with the peak NSW body saying the latest alleged incident serves as a “timely reminder” for passengers to take precautions.
Chris was waiting for his Uber at Sydney Airport on Sunday when he spotted an empty taxi and decided to jump in it instead. It would prove to be a costly mistake.
When they arrived at his home in northern Sydney, the taxi driver told him the payWave on his payment terminal wasn’t working and he needed a card to insert. So he had to go inside to fetch a physical bank card and bring it back out to pay for his fare.
“Less than 12 hours later, suspicious transactions started appearing,” Chris told Yahoo News.
“I wasn’t able to stop the transactions, I didn’t even realise what was happening until Tuesday.
“I’m very certain the card was skimmed when I handed it to the taxi driver simply because these days I don’t carry any cards on me,” he said.
It wan’t until Chris, who asked for his last name to be withheld, received a smartphone alert that a scheduled payment had failed that he realised someone had been making payments and cash withdrawals from his account.
“They got nearly $800 all up by doing withdrawals from third-party ATMs around Glebe, Rozelle, and Campsie. They could have gotten nearly another $700 if it weren’t for a scheduled direct debit being processed by the bank during their ATM spree,” he said.
Multiple cash withdrawals were made in the hours after the cab ride. Source: Supplied
A bank statement shared with Yahoo shows multiple cash withdrawals ranging from between $150 and $190 in the hours following the $31.19 taxi ride, mostly from ATMs in Foodworks supermarkets in the city’s inner west.
Chris has since gone to his bank, St George, and after a long explanation, bank officials have opened a fraud case. But they told him it could take more than 40 days for any funds to be recovered.
‘Zero tolerance’: Crackdown on dodgy cabbies
It’s certainly not the first time taxi drivers in the state have been accused of, or charged over, skimming the bank cards of passengers.
In 2014, four drivers were arrested across Sydney for the practice. In 2017, NSW Police led a major crackdown against card skimming with several banks and other Âorganisations helping to target crooked cab drivers who used software tools and altered EFTPOS machines to steal credit card information from passengers.
“We have zero tolerance for this,” NSW Taxi Council CEO Nick Abrahim said on Thursday after learning from Yahoo about what happened to Chris. “It’s fraudulent behaviour and that should be treated and dealt with accordingly.”
Abrahim said he hasn’t received a skimming incident report in a “a long while” but admitted it does happen.
“Not to say it hasn’t happened, there’s definitely been reports of this in the past where we’ve noted it and referred it to the appropriate authorities.
“We actually have had a relationship with the New South Wales Police fraud squad in the past, where we have referred matters that have come to our attention,” he told Yahoo.
But what appears to have happened to Chris is “very much a timely reminder for passengers to always remain vigilant when making payment,” he said, adding that passengers should always keep their card in sight if they hand it over to drivers.
Do you have a story about dodgy taxi or rideshare behaviour? Email: Nick.whigham@yahooinc.com
Authorities and the taxi industry itself have been cracking down on dodgy cabbies at Sydney Airport. Source: NewsWire/Damian Shaw
In the moment, Chris did not take note of the taxi driver’s details, but hopes a business near his home might have CCTV that could help identify the vehicle, and ultimately the driver.
Chris said he and the taxi driver didn’t speak much during the journey but “were both pleasant and civil with each other”.
“Even when he told me the payWave wan’t working in his machine, it didn’t strike me as too unusual,” he said. “I was pissed at the gall and the opportunism of it, and made me wonder at what point he decided to pull the trick.”
Abrahim urged anyone in such a situation to report the matter to police as well as the NSW Point to Point Transport Commissioner — the state regulatory body for taxis, hire vehicles and rideshare services.
NSW taxi drivers targeted for overcharging passengers
Two weeks ago, the NSW Taxi Council released a four-point plan to tackle “rogue” behaviour among drivers and systemic acts of overcharging.
“We need to send a stronger message to those drivers who are overcharging passengers and who are undoing the great work of the majority in our industry,” Abrahim said.
The plan includes increasing penalties for a driver’s first fare-related offence (such as overcharging) from $1,000 to $3,000, more rigorous standards for taxi meters, a system to ban offending drivers from Sydney Airport and more industry oversight of drivers who are removed from a taxi service provider.
For any passengers who have a complaint, they are encouraged to contact the Point to Point Transport Commissioner’s Fare Related Hotline on 1800 500 410.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
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