Guelph Police warning of taxi scams after cab’s rooftop sign stolen
Posted Mar 28, 2025 05:41:12 AM.
Last Updated Mar 28, 2025 05:41:17 AM.
Guelph Police are warning the public to remain vigilant of ‘taxi scams’ after a cab driver in the royal city reported her rooftop sign was stolen earlier this week.
On Tuesday around 10:30 p.m., a cab driver noticed the rooftop sign was stolen from the top of her cab when it was parked on MacDonell Street.
Police say surveillance tape shows a white Cadillac SUV circling the downtown area just after 10 p.m. before the driver of that vehicle dropped off a passenger on MacDonnell. That suspect approached the nearby cab, grabbed their rooftop sign and ran back to the waiting Cadillac. Police say that suspect was wearing all black clothes with “some white designs.”
Since then, at least three reports have been made of males in a black SUV with a yellow taxi sign on the roof, possibly a Toyota RAV4, approaching people in busy parking lots. The “passenger” would claim that the driver is not taking cash and would ask for the victim’s debit card to cover the fare, in exchange for the cash. As victims offer their card to help out, the card would be swapped with a fake.
Police say one person refused but two helped out the “passenger” and had their debit cards swapped out. In one case, one victim had their bank account cleared out at an ATM “immediately.”
“I can think of two or three times over the last couple of years where we did see a rash of these, whether it’s people coming from out of town, hitting some of the big parking lots and then disappearing, ” said Scott Tracey, media relations coordinator with Guelph Police.
The suspects are described as either Indian or Middle Eastern, in their mid 20’s, to early 30’s and driving a black SUV – possibly a Toyota RAV 4.
In Waterloo Region, similar taxi scams were seen a few months ago. Tracey said Guelph Police are always working with other partners in police services around the city.
“We were aware of others in the GTA and Waterloo Region operating much the same way and possibly involving the same suspects,” said Tracey. “We are always sharing information with other services and looking for connections between incidents in the various municipalities.”
