BRITISH tourists travelling to Paris are being targeted by a network of taxi scammers waiting to trick new arrivals at airports, train stations and museums, French police chiefs have told Money Mail.
More than 11.5 million tourists are expected to flock to Paris for the Olympic Games, which begin on Friday, according to figures from the city’s tourism board.
And many will be travelling from the UK — in January, Paris 2024 organisers said British fans had already bought half a million tickets for the Games, more than any country other than France.
But hundreds of thousands arriving in Paris over the coming weeks — for the Games and summer holidays — must be on guard for a vicious scam that is sweeping the capital.
Criminals are preying on tourists’ confusion amid the crowds, and an investigation in Paris by Money Mail today reveals the scale of the risk that holidaymakers face upon arrival.
Jessica Beard, outside the Gare du Nord, says security guards and police did little to deter unofficial Paris taxi drivers approaching travellers
We discovered there are hundreds of dodgy unlicensed taxi drivers — as well as legitimate drivers breaking the rules — who overcharge tourists using a range of clever ploys.
The police captain in charge of taxis and fraud today sounded the alarm on the surge of scammers. Police commander Giles Gravet, who runs the ‘Boers’ division that oversees taxis and on-demand drivers, says: ‘Tourists must be vigilant. We’re expecting to see increased activity during the Olympics. We have reinforced our abilities for the coming weeks. There is a huge police presence across Paris, including at airports and train stations.’
Money Mail readers have been writing to warn of the dangers in recent months, with some losing thousands of pounds on taxi rides that lasted just a few minutes. This scam has been carried out by both drivers in unmarked cars and also by official-looking taxis, they say.
It typically involves the driver ‘accidentally’ overcharging the passenger on their credit or debit card without their knowledge. For example, once you have reached your destination, instead of charging the €12 displayed on the meter, the driver will key €1,200 into the card terminal.
Jessica is approached by a driver, despite it being illegal in France for any driver to approach members of the public and offer a taxi ride
… he then tries to lure her into his unlicensed taxi
The conmen will hold their hand in front of the payment terminal screen to obscure the sums entered or cover the extra zeros with their thumb.
In many instances, they will claim that the first payment was unsuccessful, in the hope of getting a second payment from your card. If you are making a contactless payment, they may also claim that this has failed, so you are forced to enter your PIN. Once you have done so, you are no longer bound by the payment limit of €50 for contactless transactions.
One reader, Karen Moody, was horrified to find her 15-minute ride across the Seine last month had cost her €850, instead of the €8.50 she believed she had paid.
The 79-year-old from Marlow, in Buckinghamshire, says her taxi driver refused to take cash and stopped in the middle of a busy junction to demand she paid quickly by card. ‘I felt under pressure and cars were honking so I paid,’ she says.
Karen believes he had hidden part of the screen on the card machine so she couldn’t see that he had added a zero on the end.
She immediately reported the scam to her bank NatWest, but has not yet been reimbursed. NatWest said it is currently reviewing her case.
Mr Gravet says: ‘There is a huge amount of this type of fraud at the moment.’
British banks have also raised the alarm, warning that in some cases drivers have been able to get hold of card details and use them for recurring payments after tourists have left the car.
Ahead of this week’s opening ceremony, Money Mail decided to investigate and went to Paris last Friday.
Within minutes of arriving at Terminal 2C of Charles de Gaulle Airport, also known as Roissy Airport, north-east of Paris, we spotted four shady characters interspersed in the crowd, approaching new arrivals to offer taxi rides.
While you can hail a taxi down in the street, it is illegal in France for any driver to approach members of the public and offer their services. The same goes for those operating on smartphone apps such as Uber or Bolt.
So there was no doubt the familiar call of ‘taxi, taxi’ ringing around the airport terminal was against the rules.
The four men, all of whom appeared to be in their 30s and dressed in dark clothes, were standing alone and occasionally nodded in each other’s direction or whispered something while walking past each other.
We watched as they made offers of taxi rides to tourists in a discreet voice so as not to raise the attention of the security guards patrolling the area. Lone travellers were the biggest target. Anyone who agreed to a ride would be whisked away to the underground car park via a lift — rather than the official taxi rank that lies on the ground floor.
One man dressed in black touts for customers, offering his services to travellers arriving in the capital
Taxis leaving Charles de Gaulle Airport must charge a set tariff — €56 to go anywhere on the right bank in Paris and €65 for the left bank. This shows up on the meter from the beginning of the car journey. However, tourists who get caught out by fake taxis can be overcharged sometimes by hundreds of euros for the same trip.
Alarmingly, the risk awaiting British fans arriving by Eurostar at the Gare du Nord station was even greater.
In an hour and a half, we spotted around a dozen suspicious-looking men, who were clearly lurking in wait for the next train to arrive from London St Pancras. As one train pulled in, six of the men moved to wait next to an exit that was signposted for accredited taxis.
In the rush of arrivals, they each sidled up to disoriented tourists and were successful in luring several away. This is in direct breach of the rules — taxi drivers in France are not allowed to approach potential passengers.
Security guards and police standing nearby did little to deter them. When we made for the official taxi rank, a tall man wearing a grey T-shirt cut into our path.
‘Taxi?’ he asked. When we said we were hoping to get to the iconic Sacre Coeur monument, he began to usher us back into the train station.
Questioning why we were headed away from the taxi rank outside, he quickly explained: ‘Those taxis only go to the airport, madame. The system has changed because of the Olympics. Follow me.
‘Normally it is different, but things are closed.’ This, as the police chief would later explain to me, is a bare-faced lie.
Three drivers look for business at Charles de Gaulle Airport as tourists land ahead of the Olympic Games
We were led down a set of escalators and into a tight lift, where the man produced a parking ticket. He scanned this to take us down five floors, to a dingy and almost deserted underground car park.
He motioned to an old, light blue Mercedes. ‘That doesn’t look like a taxi,’ we challenged him. ‘It’s taxi, please,’ he said, unlocking the car. ‘If you want I show you my licence. It’s real taxi.’
But when the driver was unable to produce a taxi licence, we made our excuses and left.
Had we got into the vehicle, it is likely he would have taken us to Sacre Coeur but then demanded an exorbitant fare, French police told me. There is, however, no evidence that this driver, or any of the others we saw, was going to do so. But it did not inspire confidence, to put it mildly.
In some cases reported to the police, tourists have been charged hundreds of euros for short journeys and locked inside the car until they pay up. These criminals can be dangerous — plain-clothed police workers have been followed, threatened, had their tyres slashed and their homes attacked.
Once detected, their pictures are circulated on WhatsApp groups between fraudsters.
However, the police commander assured us that a number of the drivers we had seen at the airport and Gare du Nord would already be known to them.
In December, they took down an organised gang of illegal taxi drivers. Patrice Desbleds, a police captain, says: ‘We have Boers circulating at all train stations, airports and Olympic sites morning and night.’
There are several signs a taxi is genuine that you should look for.
Mr Gravet advises: ‘First, there must be a lit-up taxi sign on top of the car, with the words “Taxi Parisien”. Unfortunately, you can buy them online and just plug them into the lighter, so it’s not enough to prove you are in a genuine taxi, but it’s a good start.
‘If there isn’t one then it’s definitely not a real taxi and you shouldn’t get into the car.’
Next, look for a small black plaque with red numbers that sits on the front right of the car. Inside, there should also be a see-through sticker with the charges explained.
And the fourth indicator is that the driver’s licence must be clearly shown in the windscreen, to the right of the driver.
Minicabs such as Ubers must all have a ‘red macaron’ on the front and back of the vehicle, which indicates that it is authorised.
‘If you get into a car that has no signposting — whether a taxi or car on-demand, such as an Uber — then you are faced with someone who is not regulated, so you should get out,’ adds Mr Gravet.
Many taxi drivers, even genuine ones, may ask you to pay in cash, but they are legally obliged to take both cash and card.
Mr Desbleds says: ‘If you do pay by card, double check the sum on the payment terminal matches the one on the meter at the front of the car.
‘Be on your guard if they say the card reader works but there are problems with the screen, as you could be charged an amount you haven’t agreed to.’
When you get into a taxi, the meter will generally have a few euros on it before the journey has begun. This is normal, but some drivers will illegally jack up this starting fee.
If you hail down a taxi, the meter will generally start at €3, Mr Gravet says. If you have reserved a taxi for a certain time, it will start at €7, while if you call a firm and ask for a ride immediately, it will start at €4.
A growing number of victims returning from Paris have reported the scam to their bank. Santander, NatWest and TSB are aware of the ploy and are warning holidaymakers to look out for the signs.
Matt Hepburn, fraud spokesman at TSB, says: ‘Take your time and don’t be rushed by the driver. To help reduce the damage of an unexpected payment, you should use a card with a contactless limit on.
‘Never let your card change hands — we see scams where drivers have gleaned card details, which they use to make repeat payments.’
In the unfortunate event that you are taken in, try to make a note or take a photo of the offender’s number plate and report it to the police, then contact your bank.
During the Olympics, there should be police patrolling, so you can approach an officer in uniform, Mr Desbleds says.
Above all, he advises: ‘When you go abroad and get to a new place, you will close your bag and be careful not to flash expensive goods. It’s the same here, tourists need to be aware of the risk and use common sense when getting into a taxi.’
- Have you fallen victim to a taxi scam? Email [email protected]
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