Nashville Uber driver says he was scammed through app
By Courtney Allen
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WSMV) — Many people will use rideshare services like Uber this weekend to get to their holiday festivities, but some local drivers said they are being scammed out of hundreds of dollars through the app.
When you get a ride confirmed with Uber, it gives you the option to contact your driver through the app. One Nashville driver said that is where the scam begins.
Earlier this month, William Barnes said he went to pick up a customer. While he was waiting, he got a call through the app. He thought it was from the passenger.
“It came through as the Uber app number, and I accepted the call because I was waiting on the reservation,” Barnes said.
He said the person claimed to be Uber support. Barnes said they told him he was being investigated for alcohol in his car and that he needed to stay on the line for an hour. “He told me that if the call drops, I would be kicked off the platform and can’t drive,” Barnes said.
Barnes said they told him their “investigation” had cleared him, and they wanted to compensate him for his time off the road. Barnes said they instructed him to remove his card information from his account and add theirs. Within moments, he said nearly $700 of his earnings were swiped.
“I felt devastated,” Barnes said. “I immediately knew something was up so that is why I immediately reported it to Uber.”
Uber tells WSMV 4 that “imposter scams” like this are rare on their platform. We did find similar reports of it happening in South Carolina and Rhode Island.
Uber restored the money to Barnes’ account within hours of us contacting them and sent us the following statement:
“We are committed to helping protect the safety and security of all members of the Uber community. Unfortunately Mr. Barnes appears to have been targeted by heartless scammers looking to steal people’s hard-earned money. We are in touch with him and have restored the lost funds to his account. 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 you for this information.”
Uber said it uses two-factor authentication to make it harder for scammers to target drivers, and Uber may block cash outs when fraud is suspected. Uber also told WSMV that there is a recorded message for drivers when riders call to let them know that the call is coming from the passenger and not Uber.
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