Calgary police are looking for four Ontario men they believe were involved in a taxi scam that allegedly defrauded 16 individuals out of a total $28,000.
Calgary police said they received 19 reports of taxi frauds between July 9 and July 14, 2024. The incidents appear to have been committed by an organized group of individuals, police said.
Alberta-wide warrants have been issued for the four suspects who are believed to have left Alberta and be in Ontario, where police said the men reside.
Arvinder Singh, 24, is facing 24 charges, including 17 counts of theft of a credit card and seven counts of fraud under $5,000.
Martin Hudec Siron, 19, has been charged with 15 counts of theft of a credit card, and six counts of fraud under $5,000.
Ibrahim Kald, 24, faces eight charges, including five counts of theft of a credit card, and three counts of fraud under $5,000.
Matthew Tani, 24, is facing four counts of theft of a credit card, and seven counts of fraud under $5,000.
Suspects used two methods in the scheme, according to police.
In the first method, one of the suspects would approach strangers, claiming they were trying to pay for a taxi but the driver was not accepting cash. The suspect would then ask if the stranger would use their card to pay for the taxi, and take cash in return.
The fare would range from $7 to $7.50, according to Calgary police. The suspect would offer $10 cash to the victim in exchange for using their debit or credit card.
In the second method, the suspect would pose as a taxi driver, accepting fares.
In both scenarios, the alleged driver would give the victim a point-of-sale terminal, and say the tap function was not working.
The victim would insert their payment card, and enter their personal identification number, which may have been recorded by the suspects using a skimming device.
The suspects would then swap the victim’s card with another card.
The stolen cards would be used to withdraw cash, buy items from stores, or purchase prepaid VISA cards or gift cards, according to police.
Police have asked anyone with information to contact them at 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
Calgary police noted that similar schemes have occurred in other parts of the country, including Toronto.
Toronto Police Service said in June they arrested 11 suspects and laid more than 100 charges in a similar scam in that city.
The charges followed an investigation that began in July 2024. There were originally 61 incidents identified, but that number jumped to 300 by the end of the investigation, TPS said.
Two Ontario men were also arrested in B.C. after they were allegedly posing to be taxi passengers asking to use a strangers’ card to pay the fare. The men were targeting shopping centres and universities in the Lower Mainland, police said.
Metro Vancouver Transit Police said they spotted the suspects in a black Hyundai Elantra with a fake yellow taxi sign on the roof in December 2024. Police attempted to pull the vehicle over but the driver allegedly rammed into an unmarked transit police vehicle.
Police say they found 29 debit and credit cards, a debit card payment machine, and a magnetic yellow taxi sign.
