Taxi scam: Ontario woman loses $14,000

 

 

Maria Padagdag, a Woodbridge resident, felt sorry for a woman who was traveling in a taxi and went to help her when she ran out of money. But it was only when she lost her money that Maria realized it was a scam. Maria lost $14,000 in this scam. The fraud occurred in early August. The incident took place in a parking lot.

Maria says the woman approached her asking for help because she didn't have money to pay for the taxi. She took out her debit card and punched her PIN into the machine. The woman said the driver had given her $10 and left. But four days after she got home, she received a call from her bank saying $14,000 had been withdrawn from her account. She told the media that it was only then that she realized she had been scammed. Maria is a customer of Bank of Montreal. She immediately contacted the bank. The bank responded that the case had been resolved as part of their routine process. Maria said she had been refunded the full amount.

Toronto police have been warning the public about the rise in taxi scams. So far this year, more than 800 cases have been reported, with losses of more than $1.6 million. Police said that people who approach them for help should not give out debit cards, as the fraudsters will return fake cards and keep the PIN number. They will later withdraw money from the card. Therefore, the police warned people to be careful not to fall for such scams.