London police are asking for help to find suspects believed to be responsible for incidents of debit card fraud.
The incidents occurred around London during the past week. Each time, the victim told police they were approached by someone asking to help pay for a taxi. Each time, the person appeared to be near or getting out of a vehicle that appeared to be a taxi.
The ruse involved the suspect telling the victim that the driver won't take cash as payment while showing a quantity of cash to give the victim in return. The victim was given a debit machine to pay the fare with their debit card.
Police say the victims were given cash, along with receipts and a debit card. Each victim later found out that money was taken from their bank accounts, and the debit card given to them was only a lookalike of their real one.
The fraudsters made off with an estimated total of $100,000. Individual victims have told police they were ripped off of anywhere between $1,000 and $13,000 each.
The first suspect is described as a male, 18 to 20 years old, wearing a puffy jacket, Timberland boots, a black hat and a medical mask. The second suspect is a male about 40 years of age, wearing all black clothing, a black hat and a mask.
The suspect vehicle is described as a sedan with a phony taxi sign on the roof, possibly a 2014 silver Nissan Altima.
London police would like to remind people not to give money or bank cards to someone they do not know.
The Financial Crimes Unit is actively investigating. If you have been a victim, or have any information, give them a call at (519) 661-5515, ext. 5257. Anonymous tips may be submitted to Crime Stoppers.
