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New York City - Thousands of people ripped off by New York City taxi drivers who illegally overcharged them could get some money back.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says his administration is looking into ways to reimburse cheated passengers.

The city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission said last week it had discovered a widespread scam where drivers routinely charged a rate double the usual rate.

The city said 1.8 million trips were illegally charged over the past two years. The average passenger was overcharged $4.45. But in total, the scheme bilked passengers of more than $8.3 million.

The city said Monday that it’s exploring ways to find passengers who paid with credit cards and were overcharged.

The city discovered the scheme by examining global positioning data. Officials said it’s a widespread meter scam that’s been ripping off unsuspecting cab riders for millions of dollars.

In the past two years more than 35,000 cabbies overcharged passengers at least once. The TLC said it happened on more than 1.8 million trips, with an average $4.45 rip-off per trip.

“It’s double what it should be and some of these people face serious charges,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

A driver showed CBS 2 HD how it is done with the push of a button, switching the meter to a higher out-of-city rate.

What brought this scam out of the shadows was cabbie Wasim Cheema, who allegedly charged the higher rates repeatedly.

It started a fleet-wide investigation by the TLC, which can monitor cabbies using now-mandatory Global Positioning Satellite technology, which taxi drivers so fiercely opposed.

The reason the scam has been flying under passengers’ radar is that most people in the back seat are distracted, maybe on the phone, maybe even napping, but not paying attention to the meter.

“You just tell ‘em where to go and that’s it,” frequent passenger Rebecca Feldman of Brooklyn Heights said.

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance blasted the TLC findings, saying they are based mainly on potentially flawed technology, with very little witness testimony.

Driver Luis Molina admits he has charged passengers the wrong rate, but never on purpose.

CBS 2 HD: “You push the wrong button and you don’t mean to?”

Molina: “Exactly and I have no way to cancel it out.”

Be on the lookout. When the meter starts look for the one on the far left side of the meter for the in-city rate. If in doubt ask the driver. If you are still suspicious dial 3-1-1.

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