Sunshine Coast woman’s warning after she grabbed a ‘taxi’ in Melbourne for a short ride and was slugged $108

A young woman has told of the frustrating moment she realized she had been scammed by a taxi driver driving from one of the country’s biggest airports.

Brooke Marsh is warning others to remain vigilant after she says she was led into an unmarked vehicle after landing at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport from the Sunshine Coast on May 29.

The 22-year-old, who was admittedly sleep-deprived, said she was coming down the escalators when she was called by a “nice-looking man.”

Brooke Marsh, 22, claims she was led into an unmarked vehicle after landing at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport from the Sunshine Coast on May 29.

‘I came down the escalator and looked around a bit, I probably would have looked a bit lost. And then this nice man came up to me and said, ‘Oh, do you need a taxi?'” she recalled.

As she approached the Mercedes, which was not parked at the taxi rank, Ms Marsh noticed that the passenger side door and boot were already open – a detail she later suspected may have been a deliberate move to prevent her from license plate would see.

‘As soon as I got to his car, I asked how much the fare cost [and] he explained it would be $2.80p/km – totally fine, I only drove 13 miles,” she wrote on Reddit.

At that rate, the fare would be about $60.

“He said he owned the company and had a private fleet of 10 cars.”

Mrs Marsh planned to travel just 13 miles at a rate of $2.80p/km and was happy her rate would remain under $60. But upon arriving at her destination, the man held up a terminal showing $108

Ms Marsh admitted she feared something sinister would happen if she refused the ‘overcharged’ payment

“On the way to the destination he asked if he needed a ride when my trip ended so I agreed and he texted me a confirmation, that’s how I got his number,” she added.

At the destination, the driver – who introduced himself as ‘Eddie’ – pulled out the payment terminal as $108 flashed on the screen.

“I didn’t want to say anything because I was alone in the car… I was annoyed with myself, we were taught growing up not to get in a car with a stranger,” she said Yahoo News.

“But at that moment I just wanted to get out of the situation.”

She paid, grabbed the receipt, which said ‘GM Taxipay’ – a mobile payment terminal specially designed for taxi drivers – and jumped out of the car.

Ms Marsh admitted she feared something sinister would happen if she refused payment.

The traveler later messaged ‘Eddie’ to ask for the cost of the ride, who justified the fare by claiming he worked for Silver Services – a premium taxi service offered by 13Cabs.

Ms Marsh was told the man’s driver identification number did not exist after contacting 13Cabs for assistance

This contradicts previous claims that he had his own taxi company.

According to 13Cabs, Silver Service rates are exactly the same as regular services, with a variation in booking fees by state.

After contacting 13Cabs for assistance, Ms Marsh was told the man’s driver identification number did not exist.

She believes he works for GM Cabs, which charges $2.19 per mile, and that he “severely overcharged her.”

Daily Mail Australia has contacted GM Cabs for comment.

The traveler later messaged ‘Eddie’ to ask for the cost of the ride, who justified the high cost by claiming he worked for Silver Services – a premium taxi service offered by 13Cabs

The man declined to reveal the name of the company he works for and said he does not remember the interaction with Ms Marsh.

Yahoo spoke to the man who claims GM Cabs is not the name of his company, but the name of the payment terminal in his vehicle.

He declined to reveal the name of the company he works for and told Yahoo that he does not remember the interaction with Ms. Marsh.

The driver’s ABN number was also invalid.

Ms Marsh has now contacted Safe Transport Victoria.