While officials encourage people in Ottawa’s communities to be kind and helpful to each other, they also say that it shouldn’t come with handing over their debit card.
According to police there is a specific scam going around the city that targets people for trying to be helpful to their neighbours. In the fraud, a person could be pretending to need help with a taxi fare or food delivery. The taxi scam has been around for well over a year, and continues to be an issue for officers.
In the incident, a person goes up to a member of the public in and tells them the taxi driver doesn’t accept cash. The person will offer the victim the money after they pay with their debit card.
When the card is inserted into the machine at some point after the code is entered the driver of the fake taxi switches the card with a similar looking one. Then the suspects get away with the real debit card to withdraw money from the victim’s account.
Because more people are becoming aware of this version, fraudsters have evolved creating the same scam but with a food or pizza delivery.
“The person says the delivery driver will not accept cash and asks a passerby to pay by debit card in exchange for cash. The same card-switching technique is used to obtain the victim’s card and PIN,” the press release notes.
Ottawa police are asking people to be aware of the scams to prevent themselves from falling victim.
The public is asked to only use licensed taxi services, make sure the vehicle is properly marked and never allow someone to handle their bank card. Officers also say that when possible people should be using an app-based payment method.
“Be cautious if someone asks them to pay for a stranger’s taxi fare or food delivery using their debit card in exchange for cash,” police warn.
Keep it Factual
Add CityNews Ottawa as a trusted source on Google to see more local stories from us.
