An Uber driver is warning about a new scam that is impacting workers. He says he was nearly a victim of the scam. Now he’s sharing his story.
According to TikTok user Alonzo (@zoejunior_), a new scam has people pretending to work for Uber, then using that premise to socially engineer drivers into transferring them money.
Alonzo’s story begins when he was driving for Uber late one night.
“I'm driving back to back to back, and I'm getting good orders,” he recalls. “Boom. I get a ride, an order for someone named Ashley.”
Pretty soon, Alonzo realized that something was seriously wrong about this order.
Alonzo’s video has over 20,000 views as of this writing.
What Happened To The Uber Driver?
After accepting the order, Alonzo said he was flooded with messages telling him to “please call.” Upon calling, he was greeted not by a woman named Ashley, but by a man with a slight accent.
“He was saying, basically, to me that it was reported by one of my rideshare people that I ride around with multiple passengers in my car…or I let people drive my car that don't drive Uber,” he recalls.
Alonzo says he immediately started “flipping out.” He denied the allegations, only to be interrupted by the man getting “kind of irate” and saying, “Sir, you’re not listening to what I’m saying.”
Alonzo eventually calmed down enough to process the man’s accusations. According to the voice on the other end of the phone, Alonzo’s Uber account was in danger of being canceled. However, if he went through the steps to verify his account, the man said he could continue driving for Uber and even receive a $150 credit.
The Con Unfolds
Too frazzled from the experience to put “two and two together,” Alonzo began to follow the man’s directions.
To start, the man instructed Alonzo to pull over, which he did. From there, he began listing off facts about Alonzo’s account.
“He knew stuff about my account,” recalls Alonzo. “He was like, ‘Thank you for being an Uber driver for the past hundred days. You’re an Uber Gold Plus member,’ yada yada.”
After that, the man began to go through a checklist of factors that would make Alonzo eligible for the $150 credit. The man informed him that he was missing only one thing that would make him eligible for the credit. To remedy this, he had to add new credit card information.
“He said… ‘It's gonna tell you to add a different card.’ So, I clicked on that,” he says. “I didn't even read the top, the title of the page…I'm going to where he told me to go.”
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Uber Driver Sees Red Flags
At this point, the man on the phone told Alonzo that he needed to add a temporary card number. Alonzo followed the directions. But before submitting the change, he decided to read the title of the page.
“It said ‘Transfer.’ ‘Where would you like to transfer these funds to?’” he recounts. “So all that information he was telling me to fill out was to transfer the money I had in my wallet on Uber to this new card.”
That’s when it finally became clear to Alonzo that he had nearly fallen victim to a scam. After a bit of arguing with the man, Alonzo hung up and blocked the number.
But he still has questions.
“Bro, do Uber be out here scamming people?” he wonders.
How This Scam Works
Uber is not behind this scam. Rather, there are numerous documented instances of scammers using the Uber platform to try to scam drivers.
To start, the scammer contacts the driver using the Uber app. If the driver isn’t paying close attention, all they see is that they are receiving a contact via Uber, not making the distinction between driver and customer.
Generally speaking, they will ask the driver to call the passenger, as calls from passengers to drivers tend to have warnings that they are not official contact from Uber.
After that, the person will claim that they work for Uber, then socially engineer them into adding a card into the account. At that point, funds are transferred from their account to the scammer’s card.
How Can Uber Drivers Avoid This Scam?
In order to avoid this scam, drivers can note a few things.
First, they should take note that Uber will never ask them to contact a customer to resolve an account security issue. If there is an issue with a driver’s account, Uber will reach out to them, generally via a notification on the app or via email.
Uber will never ask for a driver’s password, SMS verification code, banking information, or card details over the phone. They will also not provide them with or ask them to enter temporary card information on their account.
If you’re concerned that you’re being contacted by a scammer, it’s best to hang up and reach out to Uber directly through official channels, such as the app. If there is a genuine problem, they will inform you of it. Then, if it’s actually a scam, the company can deal with the problem account.
Viewers Say It’s A Common Scam
In the comments section, users claimed they were familiar with this scam.
“Its not Uber its a passenger going through Uber to scam through the company,” said a commenter. “Uber will tell you they will never call u and ask for your information.”
“You was scammed, never stay on the line that long, and never download anything they ask you to do, that's how they [steal] all your information,” stated another. “That sounds a little of what happened to me. Thank God my bank caught it and froze my account.”
For the time being, Alonzo is just happy that he came to his senses before the money on his account was drained.
“For all of you saying I should have known better or I was on the phone too long, etc. I am new to Uber,” he wrote in a comment. “It was a learning experience and I didn’t fall through with it but this was my first time experiencing this and now I know so y’all cut me some slack.”
We’ve reached out to Alonzo via email and Instagram direct message and Uber via email.
