11 charged in Toronto taxi scam that allegedly defrauded customers of over $500K

Eleven people have been arrested and charged after a Toronto police investigation into a taxi scam that allegedly defrauded more than $500,000 from unsuspecting customers over 10 months.

The 11, accused of being part of a criminal network that exploited members of the public, face 108 charges. 

At a news conference on Thursday, police said the investigation called Project Fare began last July after police received multiple reports by victims of the taxi scam. Initially, police identified 61 incidents of fraud, but that number quickly grew to more than 300.

Det. David Coffey, spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service, told reporters that the suspects masqueraded as taxi drivers using vehicles that were modified to look like licensed cabs.

Coffey said unsuspecting customers got into what they thought were legitimate taxi cabs only to find out that they were scammed after they paid their fares.

"Unsuspecting victims were picked up and asked to pay for the ride using a credit or debit card. During the transaction, the suspects discreetly swapped the victim's card with a card that looked like theirs. The real card and their PIN is then passed on to accomplices," Coffey said.

"These fraudsters used the stolen cards and PINs to withdraw funds from ATMs, deposit fraudulent checks to artificially inflate account balances and make high value purchases, including electronics, gift cards and luxury clothing."

At the news conference, police displayed some of the items that the fraudsters purchased and that police seized during the investigation.

On May 21, members of the police's financial crimes unit, with help from officers from various divisions, carried out three search warrants at addresses linked to the accused. Police made arrests and seized several point-of-sale terminals, high end clothing, electronics, artwork, several bank cards and vehicles resembling taxis.

The suspects include 10 men and one woman from the Greater Toronto Area, ranging from 19 to 50 years old. The charges include fraud over $5,000 and possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000. Police said they are still looking for two male suspects and a female considered a person of interest in the case.

News of arrests brings relief to cab company

Kristine Hubbard, operations manager for Beck Taxi, said after the news conference that she is relieved that police have laid charges.

"I'm just really relieved to know that this was taken seriously and that it's been dealt with," Hubbard said. "When someone defrauds or engages in criminal activity in the name of legitimate services, it's pretty heartbreaking and it's pretty defeating." 

Hubbard said she has advice for customers.

"Nobody's saying no to cash. That's number one. And if someone has a point of sale terminal, it can't accept debit and not credit, right? So our debit terminals or point of sale terminals are clearly branded," she said.

"They have the Beck branding on them and they take debit and credit. If somehow a massive cell outage happens, obviously that's affecting the whole city, that might be the case where there's no debit and no credit, but there's never one and not the other."

Also, she said customers should never let their debit cards out of sight and it should not leave their hands.

Customers should also look for a brand that they trust and look at vehicle numbers to identify legitimate taxis, she said.