'Who would say no?': Ontario senior loses $2K in scam after being approached for help
An Ontario woman lost $2,000 in a taxi scam after being approached by a woman claiming she needed help paying a fare in a parking lot a week ago.
"The young woman was holding a $20 bill and she was telling me the taxi driver wouldn’t take cash. She said can you use your debit card for me and I will pay you in cash? Well, who would say no to that? Who?" Edmee Moir of Etobicoke, Ont., told CTV News Toronto.
The woman handed Moir the $20 bill and Moir proceeded to pay the taxi driver with her debit card. He took her card, Moir entered her PIN, and the transaction was over.
But Moir said when she got back to her vehicle she noticed the debit card that was returned to her wasn’t her own.
"I get in my car and I think, ‘by golly this is not my card.’ I went back but by then they were both gone,” she said.
Concerned something was wrong, Moir rushed to her local bank branch. By the time she got there, the scammers had already drained $2,000 from her bank account, her daily limit, through an ATM.
Moir said she was initially told she may not be able to get her money back because she had given the scammers her bank card.
“I was told because you gave your card to the taxi driver, you have no chance of getting a cent back," she said.
The good Samaritan taxi scam has been operating in different parts of the Greater Toronto Area. Typically, it involves a fake taxi driver and a person who scouts for people who will pay with their debit card and accept cash in return.
The scam also uses a fake debit machine which records the PIN. So when the scammer takes your debit card, they know your PIN and then immediately make purchases or cash withdrawals to your daily limit.
Toronto police have warned about the scam in the past and said don’t give your debit card to anyone during a transaction and never return a debit machine with your card still in it. Officers encourage everyone to always inspect your debit card to make sure it’s yours after each transaction and shield your card with your hand so no one can watch you enter your pin.
Moir banks with CIBC, and when CTV News Toronto contacted CIBC Corporate Communications, they said Moir’s case was still under investigation.
Josh Burleton, Senior Consultant, Public Affairs with CIBC told CTV News Toronto in a statement, “Protecting our clients is a clear priority for our team and when we identify an issue or one is reported to us, we work quickly to investigate and resolve the matter, as we did for our client in this case.”
“While we have strong controls in place to detect fraudulent activity, we encourage all of our clients to be on guard and vigilant for card swapping and other distraction thefts when paying for a delivery or service. More information about how to spot and stay safe from distraction thefts and other frauds and scams is available on our website.”
CTV News Toronto told Moir today that she will get the stolen $2,000 put back into her bank account, which was great news for her.
“I can't believe it, I can't believe it. I’m so happy because $2,000 is a lot of money” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.