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  Geebo 8:00 am on July 22, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Amazon ( 103 ), customer service ( 49 ), gift cards ( 98 ), grandparent scam ( 65 ), lyft ( 15 ), money transfer ( 6 ), police scam ( 37 ), ride sharing, Scams ( 1,215 ), social security ( 27 ), t-shirt scam, used car ( 28 )   

  Scam Round Up: New Social Security scam and more 

  

  By Greg Collier

  This week in the Scam Round Up, we’re bringing you a story with a happy ending, for once, and a whole bunch of scams.

  ***

  Our happy ending story is one that starts out with a Philadelphia-area man who fell for the grandparent scam. He was led to believe his son was in jail on a DUI and needed $25,000 for bail. The scammers enlisted the service of a Lyft driver who was supposed to take the $25,000 to the scammers. The driver felt like something was up and tried to confirm the identity of the so-called attorney who was supposed to get the money. When the attorney wouldn’t provide identification to the Lyft driver, the driver took the money to police, who were able to return the money to the victim.

  Please keep in mind, if someone says they’re sending a rideshare or courier to your home to pick up money for some kind of emergency, the odds are pretty good they’re trying to scam you. If a relative or loved one claims to be in jail, attempt to contact them first before sending any money. More than likely, you’ll find out they’re ok.

  ***

  Just because Amazon’s Prime Day is over, that doesn’t mean Amazon scams will stop. A sheriff’s office just outside of Richmond, Virginia, is warning residents about an Amazon phone scam taking place there. In this scam, the victims receive a call from someone claiming to be with Amazon. The caller will say there are suspicious charges on the victim’s account. They’ll then say they’re connecting you with police. Except, everyone on the call is a scammer trying to get your financial information.

  Amazon rarely calls their customers, even if there are fraudulent charges. If you receive a phone call like this, hang up, then check your Amazon account to make sure there are no fraudulent charges on the account.

  ***

  An old used car scam is making a reappearance, or maybe it never went away. The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers about used cars for sale that the seller claims is being stored out of state. The scammers will claim that you need to pay a transport company with either gift cards or a money transfer. Often, the scammers will claim that eBay is shipping the vehicle. While eBay does have a used car marketplace, they do not do any shipping of vehicles. And as usual, gift cards should only be used as gifts, and money transfers should never be sent to people you don’t know personally.

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  One scam that has been popping up all over the country is the police T-shirt scam. From coast to coast, residents have been receiving text messages that claim to be selling T-shirts for their local police department. The text message contains a link that is supposed to be a shop for the T-shirts, but is actually a fake website designed to take your financial information. If you receive one of these texts, block the number and delete the text.

  ***

  Lastly, there seems to be a new Social Security scam going around the country. According to reports, there’s an ad circulating on social media that claims Social Security will provide a spending card for adults over the age of 51. This is not true, as Social Security offers no such service. More than likely, if someone tries to apply for one of these fictitious cards, the scammers will either ask for financial information, or they’ll ask for a payment first before the card can be issued.

  If you see an ad that promises you amazing Social Security or Medicare benefits, be very skeptical of them. Too often, these services are either misleading or downright fraudulent.

  If you have any questions about these advertised services, it is recommended you contact the Social Security Administration first at 1 (800) 772-1213.

   

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  Geebo 8:00 am on April 13, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Houston ( 9 ), lyft ( 15 ), ride sharing, Scams ( 1,215 ), vomit fraud ( 2 ), vomit scam   

  Lyft driver accused of sick scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft were created so passengers could avoid some of the problems that came with taxi services. For example, one of the classic taxi scams was when a cab driver would get a fare who was from out of town. Instead of taking the direct route to get to the fare’s destination, a shady cab driver would take the long way in order to increase the fare. But as time and technology progress, new scams are born out of a new generation of scammers.

  A couple from Houston, Texas, were allegedly taken for $150 by a Lyft driver. The couple got a Lyft so they could attend a concert. It was a fairly short ride, with the charge only being $7. The next morning, the couple discovered $150 had been charged to their Lyft account. The couple had their Lyft account connected to their bank account, and this caused their bank account to be overdrawn.

  According to Lyft, the $150 was for a cleanup and damage fee. The driver is said to have claimed that one of the couple became physically ill in the Lyft car. The couple disputed the charge, stating that the picture the driver submitted as evidence was not even of the driver’s car. Lyft reportedly sided with the driver, stating they evaluated the case and were not issuing a refund. It wasn’t until the couple sent Lyft pictures of them right after they had exited the Lyft, showing that neither of them were sick or incapacitated. While Lyft eventually issued a refund, they did not reimburse the couple for the overdraft fees that had with their bank.

  Lyft’s main competitor Uber also had this problem with some of their drivers. This caused Uber to instigate a more thorough process for driver’s claiming damages, including submitting cleaning receipts before they get reimbursed.

  Now, we’re not saying that all Lyft drivers are scammers. More often than not, it’s the drivers themselves who are fending off scammers in one form or another. That’s not to say that this can’t happen to you the next time you get into a Lyft. To avoid this scam, it’s recommended that you take a photo of the inside of the car as you’re leaving. Lyft riders should also link their accounts to a credit card whenever possible, as credit cards provide more protection when charges are disputed.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on May 29, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: getaway cars, Lime, LimePod, ride sharing, Seattle ( 8 )   

  Follow that Lime! 

  

  When you first hear the concept of LimePod it sounds like a great alternative to other rideshare platforms and public transportation. With the Lime app, you can unlock a car called a LimePod for $1.00 that you can drive around town for $.40 a minute. Right now, the program is only available in the Seattle area but if history is any indicator it will soon be coming to other cities as Lime has their motorized scooters for use in many locations. However, it seems that Seattle can’t have nice things as the LimePods are being used for illegal actions.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91U4j5fBMLc%5D

  According to reports from King County in Washington State, the LimePods are allegedly being used as getaway vehicles in porch and mail thefts. In order to use a LimePod, a user has to submit a copy of their driver’s license before they can use the service but if someone were to gain access to a stolen phone it wouldn’t take much to bypass security measures if that phone’s LimePod account had already been approved.

  Sadly, this seems to be a recurring trend as even rental scooters have been used as getaway vehicles in even such crimes like bank robbery. When someone comes up with an idea to help those around them there are always those who will look to take advantage of that assistance. Unfortunately, for a platform like LimePod to truly work without hiccups, it seems that even more stringent security measures are needed.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on April 26, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: gig economy ( 5 ), lyft ( 15 ), ride sharing, strike ( 2 ), Uber ( 24 )   

  Can Uber and Lyft survive strike? 

  

  It appears that the gig economy is about to face a major milestone in its relatively short history. While some cities and taxi unions have opposed the invasion of ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft, now it’s the ridesharing drivers themselves that are fighting back against the companies. On May 8th, Uber is set to issue its IPO. Some estimates put Uber’s valuation at between $80 billion and $90 billion. Meanwhile, many of their drivers earn less than minimum wage and plan to do something about it.

  On the same day that Uber goes public many Lyft and Uber drivers plan to go on strike for 24 hours in eight cities. Those cities are Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. These are all major cities that depend a lot on not only public transportation but also ridesharing services. Even just for one day, the strike has the potential to put a very inconvenient dent in a lot of people’s commute. This could get a lot of support for Uber and Lyft drivers.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wA87SgZGOc%5D

  The drivers are demanding…

  • higher wages
  • clearer policies on wages, tips, how fares are shared and disciplinary action
  • employee benefits such as health care, disability payments and holiday pay
  • recognition and representation for drivers in Uber’s management structure

  It will be interesting to see how Uber and Lyft react not only to the announcement of the strike but the strike itself. One of the problems with the current economy is that employees in most industries have fewer protections than there have been in the past. This makes the gig economy attractive to many looking to supplement their current income. That means that there are scores of people looking to replace the striking Uber and Lyft drivers if those companies decide to retaliate. While it would be a major PR disaster for those companies, they’ve become such a convenience that it may blow over.

   
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  Geebo 11:54 am on November 1, 2016 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: discrimination ( 5 ), lyft ( 15 ), ride sharing, Uber ( 24 )   

  Uber and Lyft surpass taxis in at least one category, discrimination 

  

  Ride sharing apps like Uber and Lyft have been taking a bite out of the taxi industry for some time now and with good reason. They’re cheaper, they’re more convenient, and by most anecdotal evidence, the drivers are more friendly and helpful. Now according to a study by major universities, Uber and Lyft have embraced a practice that the taxi industry made infamous, and that’s discrimination against minorities and women.

  The study found that an inordinate number of Uber and Lyft drivers would cancel rides if the user requesting the ride either appeared black or had an African-American sounding name. The way the apps work are, the drivers accept the ride request first then receive the users information including name and picture. It’s at that point that drivers have been allegedly cancelling the rides.

  The ride sharing drivers have also allegedly embraced another practice that has been known to plague the taxi industry. The report claims that when the drivers pick up female passengers, they’ll take longer routes to the destination in order to inflate rates.

  While these ride sharing apps have been heralded as the new way of doing things, it’s starting to appear like the more things change the more they stay the same.

   
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  Geebo 10:28 am on September 1, 2016 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Google ( 29 ), ride sharing, Uber ( 24 )   

  Google set to take on Uber and will probably win 

  

  Google has recently made public their own plans to start a ride sharing service not too dissimilar from Uber. Rather than have a fleet of drivers, the Google program will have volunteers who will drive people going in the same direction as them, so it’s more like a hitchhiking program than a ride sharing program, but it still cuts into Uber’s market share and reportedly at a lower price.

  Normally, this would be a good thing as competition usually breeds innovation, that’s not always the case when it comes to the search giant, they usually have a more of a scorched earth policy. Think of all the products that Google got into late in the game like search, email and maps. They took these products that many others had been doing for years, perfected them, and crushed the competition. No one uses Altavista or Mapquest anymore, and when Gmail users see that one of their friends still uses Yahoo mail they tend to roll their eyes at the address.

  While Google’s proposed program might vary differently from Uber’s it could only be a matter of time before Google perfects the ride sharing experience and Uber becomes the butt of tech based humor, much like MySpace became after the dawn of Facebook.