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  • Geebo 8:00 am on May 13, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , rideshare, ,   

    Rideshare driver thwarts grandparent scam 

    Rideshare driver thwarts grandparent scam

    By Greg Collier

    In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, it’s easy to get caught up in the routine of driving for rideshare services. But for a Lyft driver based in North Carolina, one particular ride turned into a harrowing experience that shed light on a pervasive scam targeting older adults, the grandparent scam.

    The driver received a request to pick up a woman, who claimed to be picking up important paperwork from a home in Pamlico County. Little did the driver know, she was about to be unwittingly drawn into a scheme that preys on the vulnerability of older individuals.

    Upon arriving at the passenger’s home, the driver encountered a 79-year-old man who seemed distressed and shaky as he attempted to count out a substantial sum of cash. His story unfolded as the driver listened in disbelief. Earlier that day, the man had received a call from someone claiming to be his grandson, alleging he was in trouble and needed bail money. The caller claimed to have suffered a broken nose, stitches in his lip, and a broken leg from a car crash. Additionally, authorities discovered an open bottle of alcohol in his vehicle.

    Believing the voice on the other end of the line, the grandfather rushed to withdraw $6,500 from his bank, which he entrusted to the driver to deliver to the supposed authorities.

    As the driver embarked on their journey, a series of red flags began to unfurl. The woman’s insistence on tracking her movements, coupled with the urgency of the situation, raised suspicions in the driver’s mind. Sensing something amiss, they made the courageous decision to intervene, reaching out to the man’s actual grandson, who revealed he was safe and sound, far from any jail cell.

    What the driver uncovered was a classic case of the grandparent scam, a nefarious ploy that preys on the love and concern of grandparents for their grandchildren. The perpetrators, armed with personal information gleaned from social media and sophisticated technology, exploit the trusting nature of their victims, leaving devastation in their wake.

    Despite their misgivings, the driver bravely stepped forward, urging the rideshare service to take proactive measures to educate drivers about the signs of potential scams and provide support in navigating such situations.

    This incident further highlights the danger often faced by rideshare drivers at the hands of scammers. Just last month, an 81-year-old man from Ohio tragically shot and killed an innocent Uber driver, mistakenly believing the driver was involved in a grandparent scam. In similar scenarios, other unsuspecting rideshare drivers have been confronted by law enforcement officers who mistakenly assumed the drivers were the perpetrators, especially after they had picked up money from the scam victims.

    The experiences of drivers like the North Carolina driver underscore the urgent need for rideshare services to take proactive measures in recognizing and addressing scams. As vital members of their communities, rideshare drivers often find themselves on the front lines of these schemes, unwittingly entangled in fraudulent activities. By implementing robust training programs, providing real-time support, and fostering open communication channels, rideshare companies can empower their drivers to identify and respond effectively to suspicious situations.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 15, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , rideshare, , ,   

    Uber driver killed during scam 

    By Greg Collier

    In the Columbus, Ohio, vicinity, a recent scam turned deadly for one victim, while another is now behind bars. Meanwhile, the perpetrators remain at large.

    The incident began with what appeared to be a grandparent scam. A group of scammers targeted an 81-year-old man, claiming that a relative was in jail and in need of bail money. Simultaneously, they arranged for an Uber to collect the demanded funds from the man’s residence.

    Utilizing Uber drivers as unwitting accomplices is not a novel strategy among scammers. On multiple occasions, we’ve witnessed rideshare drivers unknowingly entangled in such schemes. When this trend initially emerged, there were warnings of potentially dire consequences for rideshare drivers. Tragically, those warnings seem to have materialized.

    Upon the 61-year-old woman, who served as the Uber driver, arriving at the man’s home, she inquired about a package she was supposed to retrieve. Allegedly, the man suspected her involvement in the scam and initially held her at gunpoint.

    Reportedly, the man confiscated the Uber driver’s phone while demanding information about the scammers. When the driver attempted to depart in her vehicle, the man opened fire, resulting in her being shot. A struggle ensued, during which the man fired two more shots at the driver. It wasn’t until after the shooting ceased that the man decided to contact 911.

    Subsequently, the man faces murder charges, with dashcam footage revealing that the driver posed no immediate threat.

    If you receive a call from scammers demanding money, it’s crucial not to handle the situation yourself. Instead, promptly contact the police. They possess the expertise and training to manage these situations more effectively.

    This tragic event serves as a stark reminder of the dangers inherent in scams and the unforeseen consequences they can unleash. It underscores the need for vigilance and caution, not only among potential victims but also within our communities as a whole. As we mourn the loss of life and contemplate the implications of this heartbreaking incident, let us also strive to raise awareness and foster a sense of solidarity in combating such criminal endeavors.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on October 9, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , rideshare, , , ,   

    Rideshare drivers are being scammed out of their earnings again 

    By Greg Collier

    A new report has just come out that states rideshare drivers for services like Lyft and Uber are being targeted in scams, again. Anything connected to the internet is vulnerable to one scam or another, and that seems to be affecting rideshare drivers as well. Except this time, as the cliché goes, the calls seem to be coming from inside the house.

    The drivers are being locked out of their Uber or Lyft accounts by scammers. The scammers pose as Uber or Lyft themselves. The drivers typically receive a call from the scammers posing as whichever service they drive for. The scammers will tell the drivers there is something wrong with their account, or their account has been suspended after a customer complaint.

    After a moment, the scammers will tell the drivers that they need to verify the driver’s identification. A code will be sent to the driver through text message, and they’ll be asked to repeat that code to the caller. This code is actually the code to reset the driver’s password to their account. Once the scammer gets a hold of that code, they can change the password on the account, locking the driver out.

    From there, the scammers change where the driver’s payment is supposed to go to the scammers bank account. Then the driver’s account is drained of all the driver’s current earnings. This scam can cost a driver hundreds of dollars.

    The new report about this scam sheds some more light on it since the last time we posted about this. One driver from Portland who fell victim to this scam said the caller talked like they worked in the industry. He said they knew all the company jargon and completely fooled him into handing over his account.

    Lyft has told the media they will never call a driver asking for personal information unless the driver reaches out first.

    Again, you may not be a rideshare driver, but you could hold any another position in the gig economy, which is also vulnerable to this scam.

    If you happen to receive such a phone call, politely inform the caller that you will return their call and take the initiative to verify the situation directly through the platform. Nearly all gig economy applications should offer a feedback or contact option within the app or website, allowing you to reach out to the company for clarification.

     

  • Geebo 9:01 am on February 28, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , rideshare, ,   

    Rideshare drivers used in multi-state scams 

    Rideshare drivers used in multi-state scams

    By Greg Collier

    It wasn’t too long ago when we wondered if scammers were putting rideshare drivers in danger. That’s because scammers are using rideshare drivers as unwitting couriers or chauffeurs. In most instances, the scammers will use rideshares like Uber and Lyft to collect packages of cash from their victims. In other instances, scammers have sent rideshares to their victims’ homes, so the victim can be taken to the bank to get more money for the scammers. This has led to confusion on the part of police, where they don’t know whether the rideshare driver is involved in the scam or not. While no driver that we know of has been injured by police, it can only take one wrong move for the situation to escalate in violence.

    More recently, we’ve learned that not only are the scammers using rideshare drivers as couriers, but the drivers are being asked to drive across state lines to deliver stolen cash. In Western, Pennsylvania, an elderly woman lost $25,000 in a grandparent scam. Believing her grandson was in legal trouble, she gave a package with the money inside to a rideshare driver that the scammers had called for her.

    As can be usual with scammers, once they took money from the victim once, they tried to get more. When the new driver showed up to collect the package, he told the grandmother that his destination was somewhere in New Jersey. If you’re not familiar with the geography of the Northeast, that’s roughly a 12-hour round trip, depending on where in New Jersey the driver was headed. Let’s say that the driver was going from Pittsburgh to Atlantic City. Not only is that a 12-hour or more round trip depending on traffic, but it’s also a $1000 trip. The scammers can afford it since they’re getting thousands of dollars from their victims.

    In case you were wondering, like we were, rideshare drivers get around 25% of the fare. So, a trip from Pittsburgh to Atlantic City would be a thousand dollars, but the driver would have to drive for 12 hours. That comes out to $250 for the driver, which is around $21/hr. This does not take gas and tolls that the driver would need to pay out of their own pocket. We’d love to hear from rideshare drivers if this would be a fare they would be interested in taking. Is it worth the money?

    Thankfully, the second driver was stopped by police after the grandmother realized she had been scammed. State Troopers escorted the driver to New Jersey, where they arrested two men alleged to be behind the scam.

    While both Lyft and Uber both have parcel delivery services, we would suggest that both companies need to educate their drivers on how to be on the lookout for scams and illegal activity. Maybe have their drivers go through a checklist with the sender about various scams, such as the grandparent scam. Such a small step could go a long way in helping prevent scam victims from losing their money.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on February 17, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , rideshare, ,   

    Are scammers putting rideshare drivers in danger? 

    By Greg Collier

    More and more scammers are using rideshare services like Uber and Lyft to be unwitting participants in their scams. This is largely seen with the grandparent scam, where the scammers use the rideshare services as couriers when collecting the money from their victims. To be clear, the rideshare drivers are almost always never aware that they’re being used in such a scam. However, a recent scam where a rideshare was involved made us realize what kind of danger scammers are putting the drivers in.

    The grandparent scam is a common scam that targets older individuals by preying on their emotions. Scammers will call and pretend to be a grandchild or another family member who is in trouble and needs money urgently. They may claim to be in jail, stuck in a foreign country, or in some other kind of distress. The scammer will ask the grandparent to send money via wire transfer, gift cards, or other untraceable methods, and will often urge the grandparent not to tell anyone else in the family.

    A grandmother from the Boston area almost fell victim to the scam but was still placed in a dangerous situation. While at the bank withdrawing $9000 to send to the scammers, a bank teller became suspicious, and was able to prevent the grandmother from losing any money. However, the grandmother was driven to the bank by a white van and the van didn’t stick around as the grandmother was in the bank.

    Initially, police believed the driver of the van had some kind of involvement in the scam. The driver was described as an older man. It was later determined by police that the man worked for a rideshare service, but was hired by the scammers. While no report we read said how police approached the man, if the driver was stopped on the street and made one inadvertent false move, this story could have had a much more tragic ending. Then the scammers would have been responsible for a much more heinous crime while potentially avoiding prosecution.

    We don’t know if rideshare drivers are educated to be on the lookout for potential scam victims, but they should be. Whether picking up a passenger or delivering a suspicious parcel, maybe drivers should start asking questions. We would think that a grandmother getting a ride to their bank might be a red flag.

     

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