A short trip through Lisbon turned into a four-digit loss. Isabel, a passenger in a taxi that traveled just eight kilometers between Cais do Sodré and Sete Rios, ended up paying 1,360 euros. The case, revealed by Reportagem Sábado, shown on the NOW television channel, shows how a simple and difficult-to-detect scheme is leaving several victims with bank accounts at ‘zero’.
According to the same report, the scam starts with an apparently legitimate payment terminal. It is a portable device, used in many establishments, but in this case it is manipulated. The equipment, sold in common stores for around 30 euros, allows the fraudster to enter values via cell phone, without the passenger seeing it.
Legal terminal used for illegal purposes
A taxi driver told the same source that the scheme is based on Sumup brand terminals, which connect via Bluetooth to the driver’s cell phone. The value of the trip is not entered directly into the machine, but into the cell phone, and that is where the amount is changed when the customer is no longer looking. As soon as the latter approaches the card to the machine to pay, they only see the terminal’s display, already configured so as not to show the real value of the transaction.
The journalistic article explains that the telephone, placed face down, prevents the passenger from seeing that the taxi driver changed the amount to be paid between the moment the passenger checked the number that appeared on the cell phone’s display and the moment he approached the card to the terminal. The fraud only becomes evident hours later, when the bank alerts the victim to an anomalous transaction.
Isabel was a victim of this scam and admits that the episode left her in shock. “Since all this happened, I have never taken a taxi again. We never know who is behind the wheel or what they are capable of doing”, he told journalist Ana Leal, the author of the report.
Sensitive area and repeated scams
The same source mentions that the area where the case occurred, Rua Cor de Rosa, in Lisbon, is known among drivers and customers. It is a taxi rank in the capital, dominated by informal groups of drivers, where few Portuguese dare to park.
The report adds that this type of fraud is not isolated. There are records of similar complaints with the authorities, involving passengers, especially tourists, who pay amounts well above the real value. The manipulation of payment terminals, being discreet and quick, makes the scheme difficult to detect.
An old problem with new methods
According to Jornal SOL, abusive charging practices by some drivers are not new in Lisbon. As early as 2004, the General Inspectorate of Economic Activities warned of the use of devices that electronically speed up the taximeter. In recent years, the problem has gained new expression with the use of digital technology, which facilitates scams without physical contact.
According to the same source, there are also reports of intimidation between honest drivers and groups that control strategic areas such as the airport. Some taxi drivers who refuse to participate in schemes are subjected to threats and damage to their vehicles, in an attempt to keep them away from these locations.
Lack of supervision and impact on trust
The lack of regular inspection worsens the situation. Security forces and management entities no longer have a constant presence at critical points, which, according to drivers, created space for abuse. The result is a growing loss of trust among passengers, both Portuguese and foreign.
Isabel, like many victims, decided to change her habit. “I never took a taxi again,” he told the channel, summing up the lasting effect of the fraud. Cases like yours expose the ease with which small control failures lead to major losses and leave the reputation of the sector in question.
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