Oyster Card Taken by RPI

[Isla]

I was travelling on the tube this morning when inspectors boarded and asked everybody to show them their Oyster cards or payment cards. I was immediately suspicious as there have been a few scammers lately imitating RPIs and taking payments from cards. I asked for ID and they checked out.

I presented my Oyster and they scanned my card. They then asked for it a further two times, scanning it each time. On the third time they took it, refused to give it back and refused to explain why they were taking it.

I have subsequently called TFL, who confirmed that these were legit RPIs, but they shouldn't have taken my card as they can see that I tapped in. They have no idea why my Oyster card was taken and have cancelled my Oyster.

They have also refunded the maximum fare I was charged (more than was on the card) and have given me an additional £10 to cover the cost of a replacement.

Does anybody have any idea why a legitimate RPI would confiscate an Oyster card that had tapped in at the start of my journey? Is it also possible that I will be hearing more from the RPIs since they have my details from the Oyster card?

 

[AlterEgo]

What sort of Oyster card is it? Is it one which holds a discount, or just a normal one? Is there a railcard attached to it?

 

[Isla]

What sort of Oyster card is it? Is it one which holds a discount, or just a normal one? Is there a railcard attached to it?

A normal one. No discount. No railcard.

 

[AlterEgo]

A normal one. No discount. No railcard.

I find it hard to believe they'd just say they were confiscating your Oyster without saying why. Not questioning you, it just seems very odd!

How did you leave the Tube? Did you need to pay with contactless?

 

[transportphoto]

Are you aware of any use of your Oyster card which could be deemed suspicious?

 

[Isla]

I find it hard to believe they'd just say they were confiscating your Oyster without saying why. Not questioning you, it just seems very odd!

How did you leave the Tube? Did you need to pay with contactless?

I had to show my Tfl app to the guy on the gate, so that he could see that I had tapped in and explained what had happened to my card.

Are you aware of any use of your Oyster card which could be deemed suspicious?

Nothing at all. I have had a couple of refunds recently for same station exits as trains were cancelled, but these were approved by Tfl and wouldn't be suspicious?

 

[z444z]

Is it also possible that I will be hearing more from the RPIs since they have my details from the Oyster card?

You’ve said there’s nothing suspicious to find. Especially as they’ve covered the cost of a new Oyster I think this is very unlikely. Odd sequence of events for sure.

 

[Isla]

You’ve said there’s nothing suspicious to find. Especially as they’ve covered the cost of a new Oyster I think this is very unlikely. Odd sequence of events for sure.

I'm still not sure if they were legit, but I wonder what somebody impersonating TFL inspectors would want with somebody else's Oyster. Surely the money would come from those who were tapping their debit cards on their phones and they would want to quickly move on from somebody presenting an Oyster?

That being said, I see even less of a reason for an RPI to want the card. The only thing I can think of at a stretch is that this person had to meet a target of fare evaders caught, but this makes no sense as they took no action at the time (other than taking the Oyster). I don't see how the RPI benefits from having my Oyster at all.

I am truly perplexed.

Going forward, if this happens again, I will just be showing them that I have tapped in via the app on my phone as this was not worth the stress and hassle.

 

[Mattplans]

I was travelling on the tube this morning when inspectors boarded and asked everybody to show them their Oyster cards or payment cards. I was immediately suspicious as there have been a few scammers lately imitating RPIs and taking payments from cards. I asked for ID and they checked out.

I presented my Oyster and they scanned my card. They then asked for it a further two times, scanning it each time. On the third time they took it, refused to give it back and refused to explain why they were taking it.

I have subsequently called TFL, who confirmed that these were legit RPIs, but they shouldn't have taken my card as they can see that I tapped in. They have no idea why my Oyster card was taken and have cancelled my Oyster.

They have also refunded the maximum fare I was charged (more than was on the card) and have given me an additional £10 to cover the cost of a replacement.

Does anybody have any idea why a legitimate RPI would confiscate an Oyster card that had tapped in at the start of my journey? Is it also possible that I will be hearing more from the RPIs since they have my details from the Oyster card?

I'm surprised that they would just take the card without explaining or giving you a receipt/something to let you out at your destination station. They just left you in limbo. Did you have to explain to the gateline what happened to be let out?

The only possible reason I can think of is suspicious behaviour, ie using an oyster card on a bus in Northwest London then 2 hours later using a bus in zone 1. There is a gap in travel here that is flagged to investigators. But people who get caught like this are usually the subject of sustained investigations.

 

[Parham Wood]

If there are no suspicious circumstances as you say then I would be contacting TFL and asking for a proper explanation. If they cannot give one I would be asking for compensation for the stress and inconvenience. What they have given so far is minimal.

 

[Bigdurian]

I was travelling on the tube this morning when inspectors boarded and asked everybody to show them their Oyster cards or payment cards. I was immediately suspicious as there have been a few scammers lately imitating RPIs and taking payments from cards. I asked for ID and they checked out.

I presented my Oyster and they scanned my card. They then asked for it a further two times, scanning it each time. On the third time they took it, refused to give it back and refused to explain why they were taking it.

I have subsequently called TFL, who confirmed that these were legit RPIs, but they shouldn't have taken my card as they can see that I tapped in. They have no idea why my Oyster card was taken and have cancelled my Oyster.

They have also refunded the maximum fare I was charged (more than was on the card) and have given me an additional £10 to cover the cost of a replacement.

Does anybody have any idea why a legitimate RPI would confiscate an Oyster card that had tapped in at the start of my journey? Is it also possible that I will be hearing more from the RPIs since they have my details from the Oyster card?

I have not read any stories about scammers boarding tube trains and impersonating Revenue Protection, do you have any links to these stories. TBH, I find this highly unlikely

 

[MikeWh]

This does seem to be a weird set of circumstances, but I wouldn't worry. TfL will be able to track who the RPI was so they may well be asking further questions of them. I trust you've bought a new card now, and aren't out of pocket? The RPI won't be contacting you themself, it would only be TfL centrally and they have no reason to further contact you.

 

[TrenHotel]

I have not read any stories about scammers boarding tube trains and impersonating Revenue Protection, do you have any links to these stories. TBH, I find this highly unlikely

While not a report of any scam, TfL put out an Instagram reel last week titled "Is this a TfL ticket scam?" The messaging's quite confused: the first time I saw it, I thought it was a warning about scammers (it isn't, though, but if you're just scrolling through, you may be left with that impression)
Here it is: https://www.instagram.com/reels/DUlq3LEgjBk/

 

[Mattplans]

I have not read any stories about scammers boarding tube trains and impersonating Revenue Protection, do you have any links to these stories. TBH, I find this highly unlikely

There have been some unconfirmed accounts of revenue protection impersonators. It doesn’t seem entirely implausible to me - what exactly is stopping someone from putting on a ubiquitous hi-vis, taking a contactless reader (which personal phones can act as nowadays!) and go around scanning people’s cards, collecting payments. they’d be none the wiser. In fact, those that use physical bank cards (not Apple Pay etc) would be clueless as there’s no notification regarding the transaction. This is the second social media post TfL has made regarding this topic, not entirely sure what has triggered them, whether that’s rumour-mongering in the comments on Instagram Reels/Tiktok or whether they’ve actually received complaints about it. (it might be worthy of an FOi request actually.)

I, for one, would not be surprised whatsoever if this is actually happening. People are sheep, and in a carriage as soon as one person starts scanning their card to an inspector’s handheld device (which only a yellow phone case is needed to imitate) everyone else is prepared to follow, very few ask to see or confirm ID’s. How unlikely is it really?

 

[Haywain]

go around scanning people’s cards, collecting payments. they’d be none the wiser.

If a payment is taken from my phone I get a notification within a second or so, it's made so clear it's difficult to miss.

Are you suggesting that scammers doing this are ignoring people who pay by phone? And then, as soon as a payment is queried the game would be up as the banks would be able to see exactly where the money is going

 

[Kite159]

I, for one, would not be surprised whatsoever if this is actually happening. People are sheep, and in a carriage as soon as one person starts scanning their card to an inspector’s handheld device (which only a yellow phone case is needed to imitate) everyone else is prepared to follow, very few ask to see or confirm ID’s. How unlikely is it really

And a professional scammer will work on the line that how many people will know what an official TfL ID card actually looks like and will have created something which will fool most passengers if they get asked for ID.

 

[Egg Centric]

There have been some unconfirmed accounts of revenue protection impersonators. It doesn’t seem entirely implausible to me - what exactly is stopping someone from putting on a ubiquitous hi-vis, taking a contactless reader (which personal phones can act as nowadays!) and go around scanning people’s cards, collecting payments. they’d be none the wiser. In fact, those that use physical bank cards (not Apple Pay etc) would be clueless as there’s no notification regarding the transaction. This is the second social media post TfL has made regarding this topic, not entirely sure what has triggered them, whether that’s rumour-mongering in the comments on Instagram Reels/Tiktok or whether they’ve actually received complaints about it. (it might be worthy of an FOi request actually.)

I, for one, would not be surprised whatsoever if this is actually happening. People are sheep, and in a carriage as soon as one person starts scanning their card to an inspector’s handheld device (which only a yellow phone case is needed to imitate) everyone else is prepared to follow, very few ask to see or confirm ID’s. How unlikely is it really?

I guess the main thing is this - I don't know a great deal about it but to the best of my knowledge you can't get "anonymous" card readers that don't leave a massive paper trail back to the recipient of the funds. So even if they have useful idiots whose names it is in etc then it ought to be reasonably easy to track down the perpetrators if they're doing it at any sort of industrial scale. And if they're not then one has to wonder what's the point?

 

[Surreytraveller]

While not a report of any scam, TfL put out an Instagram reel last week titled "Is this a TfL ticket scam?" The messaging's quite confused: the first time I saw it, I thought it was a warning about scammers (it isn't, though, but if you're just scrolling through, you may be left with that impression)
Here it is: https://www.instagram.com/reels/DUlq3LEgjBk/

I got the impression that maybe people have been reporting maximum fares they've been charged as suspicious transactions, so maybe TfL have out a bit of media explaining what the charges are.
But in true modern TfL fashion, it's not clear what they're on about

 

[jumble]

I guess the main thing is this - I don't know a great deal about it but to the best of my knowledge you can't get "anonymous" card readers that don't leave a massive paper trail back to the recipient of the funds. So even if they have useful idiots whose names it is in etc then it ought to be reasonably easy to track down the perpetrators if they're doing it at any sort of industrial scale. And if they're not then one has to wonder what's the point?

In addition I imagine that TFL/LU would willing to go to quite a lot of trouble to use their CCTV and BTP to locate any idiots who are stealing their customers money

 

[Mattplans]

I asked TfL in a FOI whether there were any confirmed accounts of revenue protection impersonators, and whether their social media campaigns about the topic have been reactive or proactive, they replied:

The social media videos we have made are reactive, but not in reaction to a specific incident. Our social media team had spotted a few different videos circulating claiming that revenue inspection is a scam, and we wanted to combat the misinformation by producing official TfL content showcasing how the inspectors work and what the Revenue Inspection Device (RID) does, so customers know they aren't being scammed when touching their cards to the device.


We are not aware of any genuine instances where Revenue Protection Inspectors were impersonated to carry out fraud as you describe. The only similar instances we are aware of were:


· March 2023 - some real inspectors were accused of being fake inspectors. Somebody reported this to the British Transport Police, which led to train operators putting out PA messages about fake inspectors.
· October 2025 - some real inspectors on their way to their deployment were ‘checked’ by some fake inspectors – this was however thought to be more of a social media prank rather than any serious attempt at fraud.

 

[WesternLancer]

I asked TfL in a FOI whether there were any confirmed accounts of revenue protection impersonators, and whether their social media campaigns about the topic have been reactive or proactive, they replied:

a rather informative reply

 

[Egg Centric]

a rather informative reply

Yes. The second one might even be funny if it was done the right way, anyone seen it? Just as possible it's desperately unfunny and pathetic mind...

 

[Mattplans]

Yes. The second one might even be funny if it was done the right way, anyone seen it? Just as possible it's desperately unfunny and pathetic mind...

Yes.. haha I chuckled when I saw it. In my mind, I imagine a group of kids walking up to a group of inspectors and asking them for their tickets.