A metro Atlanta man says a scheme targeting rideshare drivers ended with more than $1,100 being stolen from him.
The uber driver told Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray that he thought he was picking up a customer when he got a call from what he thought was Uber security telling him it was a test call because of security concerns about him.
But it all turned out to be a trick to get his hard-earned pay.
“They found the perfect prey that day, even in my skepticism, even when I try to be careful, you know?” said Uber driver Jihad Allah.
With more than 15,000 rides conducted over seven years, Allah said he thought he’d seen it all. But then a scammer made off with his entire week’s earnings -- more than $1,100.
“In hindsight, I’m like, ‘Jihad, you blew through all the red flags,’” Allah said.
Allah said a call came as an in-app call from Uber, from someone claiming to be Uber security and claiming they’d been alerted that a person other than Allah was driving his car.
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“They start asking me basic questions: phone number, make of the car, my whole name,” Allah said.
Allah said he now realizes in his rush to prove himself; he gave away too much information and access to what turned out to be a scammer who cleaned out his Uber wallet.
“I was kind of blinded trying to save $100 and end up losing $1,000,” Allah said.
Uber told Gray that imposter scams are rare on their platform but do happen. The company sent him a statement, saying:
“What this driver experienced is troubling and appears to be the result of a scam by a third-party bad actor. We are continuing to investigate and working to get in touch with the driver. We routinely remind riders and drivers to never share personal account information, such as passwords or verification codes, with anyone and Uber will never ask for this information.”
Gray contacted an Uber representative once again on Friday and they said they had gotten a hold of Allah and they have restored his $1,100 in pay to his Uber wallet.
Allah told Gray that Uber also told him about extra security precautions he can use on his account that he wasn’t aware of.
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