Recent report of taxi scam in area

26-3639

The Kingston Police have been made aware of a recent taxi scam incident.

On January 31, 2026, at approximately 1:00 a.m. the complainant was walking in the area of Princess Street and Alfred Street when they were approached by an individual requesting assistance.

The individual, who was described as a 20–25-year-old female of South Asian or Middle Eastern descent, 5’5 with straight black hair, told the complainant she was from out of town and needed assistance paying for a taxi as the driver would not take cash.

The individual offered the complainant $10 cash in exchange for using their debit card to pay the $7.50 fare. Once the complainant agreed to this the female then asked to use the complainants cell phone.

The female proceeded to contact someone on the complainant’s cell phone while the complainant offered their credit card to the taxi driver. The taxi driver told the complainant he preferred using a bank card and offered to swipe the card for the complainant.

The driver swiped the complainants debit card in a point-of-sale terminal and returned a card and terminal to the complainant to input their PIN. The transaction was then completed for $7.50, and the complainant received a receipt for that amount.

During this process the female was standing behind the complainant while using the phone. The female thanked the complainant and got back into the taxi.

Upon returning home the complainant received a notification from their bank of suspicious transaction in the amount of almost $1000. While investigating this transaction the complainant realized the debit card which was returned by the taxi driver was not their own.

It is believed that after swiping the complainant’s debit card in the terminal the taxi driver concealed the complainants debit card on his person and returned a completely different card to the complainant.

The driver of the taxi is described as a male, 30-40 years of age, South Asian or Middle Eastern descent with a beard. Neither the female nor the taxi driver spoke with an accent.

The vehicle was described as a grey car with a taxi light positioned inside the vehicle between the driver’s seat and passenger seat.

Police are reminding individuals to be aware of this type of scam and to never allow anyone to physically handle their debit or credit card as well as their cell phone.

Anyone who believes they have been targeted by this type of scam can contact the Kingston Police at 613-549-4660 ext. 0. or file a report online via the online reporting portal.