Toronto police are warning the public about a weird scam involving a fake taxi and stolen debit cards. 

In a news release yesterday, the Toronto police said that the scam usually involves two scammers; one who poses as a fake driver and the other who pretends to be a passenger who approaches a victim asking for help to pay their fare. 

According to the police, the fake passenger says the fake driver won't take their cash because of COVID-19, and then asks the victim to pay with their debit card in exchange for cash.

But when the victim inserts their bank card into the modified terminal, it records their PIN and card data.

The scammers usually give the victim another bank card that looks like their bank card after the transaction and the cash before leaving the area.

"The suspects are then in possession of the victim’s actual debit card and use the PIN to make a number of fraudulent purchases and/or withdrawals," reads the public safety warning. 

The scam is similar to the one blogTO wrote about a few months ago. 

Toronto police says they believe there may be others operating similar scams, as well as further victims.

TPS also advises taxi users to never leave their debit or credit cards unattended inside a Point of Sale terminal, to be aware of taxi numbers and company names when using their services, and look for the driver's identification on display in clear view in the rear of the cab.

To avoid falling for this scam, police also recommend that residents not make payments for strangers using a personal card in exchange for cash, and they should check their card after each transaction to make sure it's their own.

Anyone who has any information, or believes they have been a victim of a taxi scam, is urged to contact police.