Toronto police have arrested a taxi driver who allegedly stole debit or credit card information from passengers and then drained their bank accounts.
On Friday afternoon, police announced they had arrested 53-year-old Afzai Mohammed of Toronto and charged him with fraud, 12 counts of fraudulent use of credit cards, and 12 counts of theft.
According to one of the investigators, Mohammed is a cab driver in the city who "didn't work for one specific company." Det. Michael Kiproff also said that because the investigation is continuing, they can't say if the car he was using was a real or fake cab.
Police began investigating after taxi passengers complained that they had thousands of dollars stolen from their bank accounts.
Victims — usually late-night fares in the entertainment district — gave the cab driver their debit or credit cards.
Earlier this week, Kiproff explained the cards were put through a modified PIN pad, which simply recorded the card and PIN.
Many times different cards, or even blank cards, were returned to customers instead of their own.
After customers left the taxi, their bank accounts were raided, police said.
Kiproff said there have been about "30 to 40 victims" of the scam.
Mohammed will appear in court in Toronto on Saturday.
Police say more charges are possible.
More Consumer Headlines »
- Big consumer tax relief still years away: Flaherty
- It will take years before the federal government can bring in the kind of historic tax reductions for ordinary Canadians that it delivered for businesses in October, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said.
- Christmas car break-ins keep St. John's police busy
- Thieves in St. John's put a criminal spin on the Christmas spirit of sharing, leaving police to probe a series of robberies at cars parked outside church services.
- Canadians flock to Boxing Day bargains
- Millions of Canadians took part in the Boxing Day bonanza on Wednesday, although shopping malls may have been less crammed with bargain hunters this year.
- U.S. house prices drop by a record 6.7 per cent
- House prices in the United States fell in October for the 10th consecutive month, posting their largest monthly drop since early 1991, a widely watched index showed Wednesday.
- Toyota announces plan to sell 9.85 million vehicles in 2008
- In a neck-and-neck race that could dethrone General Motors as the world's top automaker, Toyota said it plans to sell 9.85 million vehicles globally in 2008.
Blog Watch
Most Blogged about CBC.ca Articles
Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites - link will open in new window
