Scammers Offer to Schedule Uber Rides at Discounted Rate
Don't fall for this convoluted way criminals are attempting to squeeze money out of Uber.
A report in the Daily Beast describes how criminals are running the scam, and some indicated that the they are targeting NYC, not just Eastern European countries.
The criminal entices would-be Uber riders by offering cheap prices, as long as you agree to request the ride outside of the official Uber app. Instead, the potential rider talks to the scammer via a chat app like Telegram, handing over their information. Acting as a go-between and using location-spoofing measures, the scammer requests a car to pick up the passenger, and the driver arrives as normal and may or may not be aware of what is happening.
In reality, the Uber ride was requested by the scammer using false or stolen info and paid for with a stolen credit card, which will eventually be caught and rejected by Uber's payment processor. All of this for the small reward of a few dollars that the rider will pay directly to the scammer for the service and possibly any promotional code rewards the scammer can abscond with before their account is flagged as fraudulent.
While it may be tempting to take advantage of Uber by using the scam service, don't take the chance of revealing your destination location and payment details to someone who is already desperate enough to set up an illegal operation on the hopes that they'll make a small profit.
Read the full article to learn more.
