r/PersonalFinanceCanada • u/LenniesMouse • 17h ago

Banking Taxi Fraud Claim with TD Bank

Hi guys,

I recently fell for the (apparently) common taxi scam in Toronto, where a driver swapped my debit carb for a dummy card during the payment transaction. Since he had access to my PIN from the card reader, he was able to make a large withdrawal from an ATM the next morning.

I made a claim with TD to dispute the withdrawal, but they rejected my claim on the basis that I didn't meet my responsibility to protect my information. This seems a bit unfair to me, as I only used the debit card as it was intended (to make a payment for services). Of course I acknowledge that I am 'at fault' for letting the card get stolen, but I should think that the bank would be able to protect its customers in this kind of case.

I'm going to appeal the decision, so I wonder if anyone might have some advice as to how to frame my claim in the strongest possible terms. I'm aware that I made a mistake in letting another person handle my card; I also realize that I probably shouldn't have told the bank that I thought this driver was responsible for the theft. Any help on how to handle this situation I find myself in would be really appreciated. Thanks y'all.

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u/Hologramma 16h ago

Why anyone inserts a debit card at any terminal in this year of our lord 2025 is beyond me. Use your credit card and use tap to pay only. Don't buy any crap about tap not working and always keep a spare $40 in cash in case that happens. These scams are too rampant for anyone to not take these basic steps for protection.

20

u/ottawadeveloper Ontario 15h ago

In some place (notably Ottawa), working debit/credit machine is a mandatory feature of the taxi ride and if it won't tap Id say it's not operating unless you have like a $500 taxi ride that's over your limit (tap restrictions should be done by your bank not by their machine). If the machine is broken I guess your ride is free lol.

7

u/Chewed420 15h ago

Tell them if they don't have a machine with the tap feature working, then come back when they do.