She says her good deed ended with nearly $ 7,000 in fraudulent charges on her debit card, making her one of the few victims of an intricate scam in the city. The Richmond RCMP issued a public warning Wednesday in hopes of protecting others from Zimmering’s fate. According to police, there have been several reports since April 22 of a man approaching people in busy parking lots asking for help with a taxi fare. After the victim agrees to help, a fake taxi arrives and the driver, who is involved in the fraud, says that he can only get debit cards and that the tap function does not work in his machine. He then takes the card and pretends to make a transaction, puts the victim in his PIN and then gives him back a different card. Zimmering said she was given back a debit card that looked exactly like hers and she did not believe anything was wrong. She says she found out about the fraudulent charges when her bank contacted her. By then, there had been five illegal transactions totaling about $ 6,900, including $ 2,500 in cash.
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 front-line investigators and the Financial Crimes Unit are working diligently to locate and locate the suspects. In the meantime, we believe there is a need to warn the public about this fraudulent activity,” Henderson said. Zimmering said afterwards there were red flags missing. “Which taxi does not want cash?” said Zimmering, who says she now just hopes her bank will get back its stolen funds. He wants others to remember to always seek the driver’s license in the vehicle before making a financial transaction and to ask the driver if they request 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 license plate on it. The vehicle does not match the description of the car released by RCMP – a white Toyota Camry with a white taxi license plate at the top – so more than one vehicle may be involved. The warning issued by the police describes the man who approaches people as Middle Eastern and in his 20s. The fake driver is said to be a man from Fiji or South Asia in his 20s. Anyone with information is kindly requested 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.
