Fake taxis?

A while ago I read an article talking about fake taxis in HK...they look like legal cabs, but are rented by people who pretend to be real cabs and keep the fares. I believe they were referred to as 'ghost cabs' or some similar thing.


How can you tell if a cab that picks you up is a fake? Or if the driver isn't properly licensed? I've seen some rather sketchy driver's licenses on the dash...pictures taped on, photocopies of the background form, etc, but one cabbie told me that those might be 'old licenses' before some sort of revision a few years back.


What can folks tell me about fake cabs, how to spot them, and fake licenses?

The ones who run folks out to the airport are referred to as "White Card" taxis, or something like that. It has something to do with a pseudo-license, maybe their vehicle registration or something, that sort of gives them the ability to carry passengers....you can tell that I don't really know much about that.


What I'm referring to are basically counterfeit cabs, or cabs with drivers who are not legal drivers. The article I read started out talking about a (legal) cabbie who saw another red/white cab go by with HIS OWN LICENSE PLATES on it. And my own experiences were that once I got picked up by a legal-looking cab in Soho, but halfway home I noticed that the driver's permit on the dash was just a piece of paper with something handwritten on it, not an official license. The picture attached was a photocopy of an older man, but the driver was a young man in his late 20s, wearing sunglasses (at 1AM!) and he didn't have any change or anything. It was almost like this guy had stolen a cab, stuck a scrap of paper in the empty license holder, and was driving it around collecting fares. He also didn't know the way out of town.