FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, December 20, 2017 12:50 pm
(Ottawa)—The Ottawa Police Service has received reports about a male suspect posing as an Uber driver in the downtown core, particularly in the ByWard Market area.
In this scam, the suspect typically waits in his vehicle, late at night, and looks for people coming out of bars/restaurants who may be looking for a taxi.
The suspect approaches potential customers and identifies himself as an Uber driver. This happens before the person connects to the Uber Application to request a ride.
The suspect drives the victim to their destination and uses a card skimmer or asks the customer to pay with a debit card or VISA. Having obtained the customer’s PIN and card number, the suspect attends an ATM and withdraws large amounts of money from the customer’s account.
The Ottawa Police Service is not issuing a suspect description at this time, as there could be several such scammers.
It is important to remember that Uber is a smartphone application that allows customers/drivers to have all payments done within the application. As such, an Uber driver should NOT be requesting other means of payment. It is best not to accept a ride by an Uber driver, unless you have actually requested the service.
If you have been a victim of this fraudulent scam, please contact the Ottawa Police Service at 613-236-1222, ext. 7300, and file a report.
Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers toll free at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or by downloading the Ottawa Police app.
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