Published
Update
Video length: 2 min
Fraud: investigation into the business of fake Parisian taxis
Fraud: investigation into the business of fake Parisian taxis – (France 2)
Fake taxi drivers are more and more numerous, and better and better organized. They scam thousands of tourists every year.
In a few months, Roissy airport will be the gateway for hundreds of thousands of spectators to the Olympic Games. Every day, a bitter battle takes place between taxis and illegal drivers. How are they organized? A France 2 team investigated. An illegal driver directs towards a man he refers to as a driver. However, soliciting customers is illegal, and the advertised price is 15 euros more expensive than the regulated rate.
Networks similar to those of drug trafficking
These fake taxis, undeclared, sometimes extract up to several hundred euros from their victims. On social networks, Internet users are warning. The lucrative business is structured into networks, similar to those of drug trafficking. One of them has just been dismantled. To avoid checks by the police, the fake taxis paid lookouts up to 140 euros per week. The information was transmitted via encrypted messaging. A police officer, who wishes to remain anonymous, mentions a “mafia organization”with its share of intimidation and threats.
