Uber says it’s investigating a string of scams involving fake driver profiles after a Toronto woman was charged for a ride she was not in.
Last Friday, Toronto content creator Olivia Akena posted a TikTok alerting others of an Uber scam involving drivers that demand personal information and attempt to charge riders for trips they did not take.
Akena says she called an Uber from her work office and received two messages in Arabic translated to English where the driver requested her email address to confirm the trip, a request that is not part of Uber’s protocol.
“…I was very confused. I’ve never seen that before in my life. So, just kind of jokingly, I answered, ‘What?’ and he said, ‘If you don’t send me an email, no trip cancel,’ like I’m going to cancel it on you and I said, ‘Why would I need to do that?’” she said in an interview with Now Toronto on Monday.
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She explained she did not cancel the ride because she wanted to avoid getting charged an extra fee. So, she continued to walk where the car destination claimed to be, however once she reached the location, she said there was no car in sight.
“…I don’t see this driver and it turns out he had started the ride without me in it and I could see, I could follow him on his map to see where he was heading. So, obviously I’m super angry at this point and I called the phone number to his account, supposedly, and someone from Montreal ended up picking it up,” Akena said.
“I said, ‘What the F is wrong with you?’ Why are you charging me for a ride I’m not even in?’ and this poor guy was so confused. He’s like, ‘Wait, slow down, slow down, who are you? Why are you calling me? Why are you yelling at me? I don’t even know what’s going on,’” she continued.
Afterwards, Akena told him where she was and how her ride was not there, to which he responded saying he was in Montreal and she had the wrong number.
Following the incident, she said she reported the situation to Uber immediately. In her complaint, she informed the Uber customer service representative that she believed the driver was using a fake profile and a fake phone number.
In response, Uber apologized about the inconvenience and the driver’s behaviour. In addition, they added a $10 credit to her account.
“Our goal is to connect you to a reliable ride no matter where you go. Feedback like yours helps us support and educate drivers. In the meantime, we’ve also let our systems know not to match you with this driver,” the Uber message read in part.
UBER INVESTIGATES THE SCAM
An Uber spokesperson told Now Toronto it is aware of the ongoing scam and is investigating the report. They said the scams are likely the result of a driver account being compromised and though the scams are rare on the platform, they are present and continue to evolve as Uber updates its security controls.
As a result, Uber is reminding riders not to share their password or verification code with anyone, as Uber would never call, text or request personal information.
“Riders and drivers should never share personal account information. We take the security of users’ accounts very seriously, and if users believe they have been scammed, we encourage them to report it to us so we can investigate and take action,” a statement from Uber reads.
Riders who believe they are involved in a scam are encouraged to report the issue to Uber for further investigation at help.uber.com or through the Uber App.
For more information on ways to protect your Uber account, click here.
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