Scammed by taxi driver abroad - credit card company says they can’t help

[FraudAbroad]

We are abroad on half term holidays. Did an excursion with the kids and got caught in torrential rain. Called an uber and got in with beach bags (in back) and the kids. Immediately after pickup the driver said there was an issue with the uber app and the ride had been cancelled. He said we could pay him the same amount as was on app with card. I was suspicious and asked my husband to double check the amount on card reader.
the amount on reader was correct but instead of £9 we have been charged over £900! Please no lectures on this is a common scam and we should have known etc. as I said there was a storm, we had two small kids in car, tons of bags etc.

our credit card company (Natwest) are now saying we can’t report a scam as we don’t have the receipt. Has anyone got any experience with this or a similar scam? Can we really not contest the transaction?

feeling very upset this has happened and £900 is of course not exactly small change. Thanks

How did he get the card reader to say 9 pounds?

Also sorry that happened to you

That’s really odd, you should be able to contest the charges without having to prove it’s a scam. The bank is supposed to look into the charge and see if it’s legitimate or not.

For a receipt, can’t you use the Uber order that was £9?
Part of the fraud was him cancelling the Uber order.

If it was shown quickly, £9.00 can look like £900

But she got her husband to check it carefully. Damn it I thought card readers were trustworthy

Too, when abroad, they sometimes reverse , for a .
So 9,00 is 9
And 9.00 is 900

depending on the European country.

Really? That makes all card readers abroad not safe then

We are in Mexico. The card reader said 240 pesos which is circa £9/10. We were charged £907. It’s a common scam (I know now) I don’t know how the guy manipulated the card reader.

You can always approach the financial ombudsman if you think NatWest is not taking your fraud report seriously.

At least it was on credit card, more protected than debit card. I would call natwest again and speak to someone else

it a common scam, a fake screen or similar on the card reader. We are in Mexico, it was meant to say 240 pesos.

I think that’s the best option at this stage.

Sorry to hear about the scam. Try again with NatWest. AmEx would have immediately frozen that and refunded it while they investigate.

That’s what I was expecting. I really don’t understand why they don’t. The reason they is because we don’t have a receipt, but shouldn’t they also investigate with the vendor?

Do you think you are missing the point somewhat by continuing to explore what was displayed on the card screen and whether they misread it and are somehow to blame. They paid £900ish, they were scammed. Op NatWest can presumably see the money coming out, it seems madness you can't flag the transaction as fraudulent and have it investigated. What an awful thing to happen on holiday when you are supposed to be having the time of your lives. Can you try to tell yourself that this will get sorted and salvage the rest of your stay?

I would use the Resolver website run by Moneysavingexpert.com to make a formal complaint and go to the Ombudsman if you don't succeed.

You need to follow the process through and give them time but they should 'pause' the transaction once you've disputed it, meaning you won't have to pay the £900. If they don't cancel the transaction and you tell them you will go to the Ombudsman this usually focuses their minds as they get charged a fee for each complaint so often by then its easier and cheaper for them to just cancel the transaction.

There was an article on the guardian website the other day about exactly this scam. Might be worth reading that

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/may/24/brazilian-beach-scam-debit-card-con-kebab

Thank you 💐 appreciate it.
It’s been quite stressful and upsetting, and I can’t believe how unhelpful NatWest have been. We will call them again.

we are trying not to let it ruin our holidays now and hoping we can get it all resolved eventually

Thank you! Really appreciate your comment too.

You didn't authorise payment of £900, therefore, the banks are supposed to help. If they actually bother to look into it, they would know its a taxi service and it wouldnt cost that much!

Natwest is saying we put the pin in and therefore authorised it. Of course the screen didn’t say the right amount.

That doesn’t sound good from them. If you say were scammed and you can show on the Uber app that you booked a taxi at that time . No one pays 900 pound for a taxi. Surely they should have been able to freeze it

Not saying you are daft but did you speak to the bank in general or the fraud department?
We had Xbox scams and Halifax were useless at first but their fraud dept sorted it very well...

Could you also report on Uber about what the taxi driver has done in this situation
You may not get them to pay you anything but it may help your case with NatWest if Uber investigate and this isn't the first time they've been reported

We have reported it to uber, they don’t seem to care. The driver has cancelled the ride, what happened afterwards doesn’t seem of interest to them.

Natwest have now said they can’t freeze or block the transaction (because the pin was entered) but we can open a dispute and contest it and then they will investigate.