'I'm pretty sure I got scammed': Calgary woman victim of fake taxi

Kathryn Kozody's final Stampede weekend didn't end the way she expected it to. On her way home from a work event, with her phone battery almost dead, she opted to take a cab she saw on the street.

"The first kind of red flag — retroactively, looking back — was that he said debit only," Kozody said, referring to the cab driver. "And I said, 'Well, what about credit?' And he said, 'Nope, no credit, only debit.'"

Kozody didn't think anything of it and took the cab, only to discover the next day $2,000 had been withdrawn from her bank account, and the debit card she had wasn't hers. 

"You're in such shock, but it just hit me, 'I'm pretty sure I got scammed.'"

Kozody was the victim of a fake taxi cab scam — and she isn't the only one. 

The Calgary Police Service (CPS) said Friday that five taxi cab scams had been reported.

Staff Sgt. Brad Moore, with the general investigations unit, said Tuesday they now have nine reports, citing Stampede as an opportune time for scammers to take advantage of people like Kozody who were trying to get home. 

"Things like the Stampede bring a lot of people to town that are taxing the system for transportation," Moore said. "It becomes a bit of a crime of opportunity, so to speak."

The Edmonton Police Service has also reported taxi cab scams, and the Toronto Police Service's financial crimes unit noted in January that taxi scams since June 2023 had resulted in over $40,000 in losses. 

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reports 15,941 victims of all types of fraud in Canada so far this year, as of June 30. By the end of 2023, there were 41,988 victims.

According to CPS's Q4 report for last year, 555 incidents of credit card fraud were reported in 2023. Moore said that while they are not necessarily seeing an increase in the number of cases, fraud reports are frequent.

Moore said it is important to remember that scam taxis are not legitimate cab companies or services such as Uber, where a customer books a ride ahead of time. 

Typically, Moore said, the scams involve two people — a driver and someone asking for help paying for a cab that doesn't take cash. The driver will then take the victim's debit or credit card, put it through a modified point-of-sale system that records their PIN and then swap their real card with a fake one. 

'It's not legit'

In Kozody's case, no one approached her. She and a friend used the cab after seeing someone else get out.

"I gave him my debit card, typed my PIN in, and then he said, 'Do you want a receipt?'" she said. "I just had this thing in the back of my head where I'm like, 'Yeah, I might as well get a receipt because that's kind of weird.'"

The debit card was not the only tipoff, however. Kozody said the cab fare cost only $7.50, which she thought was strange considering it typically costs her $20 when she takes an Uber.

"Even the receipt that I got printed … it's not legit," she said. "The receipt said the last four digits of my debit card number but there was never $7.50 ever debited from my account."

She adds she searched for the company listed on the receipt — Calgary City Cabs — but spam blockers popped up immediately. CBC News verified this and found the website is blocked.  

Moore said there are also physical indicators of whether a cab is real or not, such as a livery or fleet number, company contact information and a driver number. Rate signs on the windows are also indications the cab is valid.

Kozody said, upon reflection, she saw none of these markings on the cab she took. It was just a plain white car with a taxi sign on the roof.

"It was more basic and could have just been a taxi sign he bought off Amazon," she said.

Scam avoidance

It is important to remain vigilant, Moore said, as scam taxis often appear randomly, unlike licensed taxis consumers can call ahead for. Keeping your debit or credit card in your possession also prevents scammers from swapping it, he said. 

"Ask questions if these cabs are just showing up and you haven't actually called them," he said. "If it doesn't look like a true cab, then you need to start asking yourself some questions."

Moore said it's important not to go through with any transaction if something feels off. He added scams can happen to anyone, and although it might feel embarrassing to report it, even small details can help officers in their investigations.

"Although people feel bad when they're scammed, you have to remember this is something that would have occurred to somebody else if it wouldn't have occurred to you," he said. "There is no real shame in it."

Kozody said her bank has launched an investigation into the incident, and she hopes to be reimbursed. While she has not filed a police report, Kozody sees her experience as a warning for others. 

"The more people that hear about it, the less likely it is to happen," she said. "I don't want anybody to have to go through that."