A student from China got an awful welcome to the country when a taxi driver scammed him into handing over all of the money that he brought with him. The student paid $4420 for a taxi ride from Chicago O'Hare airport for a ride that should have cost less than $300.
According to the News-Gazette, the University of Illinois student didn't know much English. The driver took advantage of the situation and lied to the student, telling him that there were no more buses that were heading to Champaign, Illinois that evening, where the campus is located.
The driver approached the 18-year-old Chinese student at the arrivals hall of the airport and told the student that he would take him to the campus for $1,000 for the 150 mile trip. However, when the taxi arrived at the campus, the driver demanded that the student paid him $4,800 for the trip.
"The student said he didn't have that much so he gave him all he had," University of Illinois police Sgt. Tom Geis told the News-Gazette. The Chicago police are on the hunt for the driver.
The International Student and Scholar Services program at the University of Illinois questioned the student and asked why he trusted the taxi driver and why he had so much money on him.
"It's hard to know why this would have happened," Julie Misa, director of the program said.
The University of Illinois website provides a number of ways for students to get to the campus from the airport. One option is a bus which only costs about $30.
According to worldtaximeter.com, which is a site made to book taxi rides, a ride from O'Hare airport to Champaign, a 150 mile trip, should only cost around $290.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
