French taxi driver swindles €62,000 out of tourists paying by card terminal over 5 month period

A French taxi driver has been accused of swindling dozens of tourists in Paris out of thousands of euros in order to feed a gambling habit.

According to investigators, the 30-year-old driver made some €62,000 at the expense of innocent tourists between November 2022 and March 2023.

French news source The Local said the the unnamed driver was accused of swindling 71 different tourists out of their money by scamming them via a contactless payment terminal.

The driver would input a much higher journey price, sometimes over €1,000, and then pretend the contactless payment had failed. The driver would then ask the passenger to try again using Chip and PIN for the inflated fare whilst hiding the amount payable.

Police say several victims did not come forward because they failed to spot the payment sometimes costing hundreds of euros until they got home.

News source Le Parisien reported that the French cabbie was caught after charging a Spanish family €1,540 in January for a trip in Paris that actually amounted to €15.40.

Having built a case, the police arrested the driver in March. The case has been referred to the tribunal de Paris.