Scammers pose as Uber staff to drain drivers' earnings

An Uber driver named Alonzo says he nearly lost the money in his Uber wallet to a scammer posing as Uber staff. He shared the story on TikTok (@zoejunior_). The con started with a ride request and ended with a screen that, he realized just in time, was built to move his money out.

What happened

Alonzo was driving late at night and getting good orders. Then he got a request for a passenger named Ashley. He was soon flooded with messages asking him to call. The person who answered was a man with a slight accent, not a woman named Ashley.

The man said a rider had reported that Alonzo drove with multiple passengers or let people who don't drive for Uber use his car. He said the account could be canceled. But if Alonzo verified it, he could keep driving and get a $150 credit.

How the scam played out

Alonzo says he was too rattled to think it through. The man told him to pull over. He then listed details about the account, including that Alonzo had driven for about a hundred days and was an Uber Gold Plus member. Those details made the call feel real.

The man said one thing stood between Alonzo and the credit: a new card on the account. Alonzo followed the steps and entered a temporary card number. Before he submitted it, he read the page title. It said "Transfer," and asked where to send the funds. The form would have moved his Uber wallet money to the scammer's card. He argued with the man, hung up and blocked the number.

How these scams work

Uber is not behind this scam. The article says there are many documented cases of scammers using the Uber app to reach drivers. The scammer sends a message through the app, and a busy driver may not notice it came from a customer. The scammer often asks the driver to call, because calls from passengers carry warnings that they are not official Uber contact.

What to do

Uber's own guidance, as described in the article, is short:

• Uber will not ask a driver to contact a customer to fix an account security problem.
• Real account issues come through an app notification or email.
• Uber will not ask for passwords, text message codes, banking details or card details by phone.
• Uber will not give you temporary card information to enter.

If you think you are talking to a scammer, hang up and contact Uber through the app. If there is a real problem, Uber will tell you there.

What is not known yet

Alonzo's video had over 20,000 views at the time of writing. Commenters said the scam is familiar, and one said a bank caught a similar attempt and froze the account. Motor1.com reached out to Alonzo and to Uber by email. The material does not include a reply from Uber or say how many drivers have been hit.