Mindy Zimmering was heading to a dollar store in Richmond, British Columbia, on Tuesday night when she decided to be a good Samaritan and help a young man who approached her in the parking lot and said there was not enough for a taxi.
She says her good deed ended with almost $ 7,000 for fraud on her debit card, making her one of a handful of victims of a complex fraud happening in the city.
The Richmond RCMP issued a public warning Wednesday, hoping to protect others from Zimmering’s fate.
According to police, since April 22, there have been several reports of a man approaching people in busy parking lots asking for help with the fee.
After the victim agrees to help, a fake taxi arrives and the driver, who is involved in the fraud, says he can only take debit cards and the touch function does not work on his machine. He then takes the card and pretends to make a transaction, makes the victim enter his PIN, and then returns another card.
Zimmering said she had been returned a debit card that looked exactly like hers and did not think anything was wrong.
She says she learned of the fraudulent allegations when her bank contacted her. So far, five illegal transactions totaling about $ 6,900 have been made, including a cash withdrawal of $ 2,500.
More victims
Richmond RCMP Cpl. Ian Henderson said in a statement that as of April 27, seven victims had reported being deceived in this way.
“Our frontline investigators and economic crime departments are working hard to identify and locate the suspects. In the meantime, we believe we need to alert the public to this fraudulent activity,” Henderson said.
Zimmering said there were red flags that she was missing.
“Which taxi doesn’t want money?” said Zimmering, who said she now simply hoped her bank would recover her stolen funds.
She wants others to always remember to ask the taxi driver’s license in the vehicle before making a financial transaction, and to ask the driver if he wants a specific payment method.
Zimmering said the man who approached her was about 25 to 35 years old and the vehicle was a red sedan with a taxi sign on top.
The vehicle does not match the description of the vehicle launched by RCMP – a white Toyota Camry with a white taxi sign on top – so more than one vehicle can participate.
A warning issued by police described the man approaching the man as a man from the Middle East in his early 20s. The fake driver is said to be a man from Fiji or South Asia in the early 1920s.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Richmond RCMP at 604-278-1212, citing file number 2202-10686. To remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or visit solvecrime.ca.
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