I was scammed by an Uber driver

Let we get accused of only focusing on scams by unscrupulous taxi drivers, here is a new category of travel cautions: scams by Uber drivers.

It's hardly surprising. Despite the best designed systems, there are unscrupulous people out there in the big, bad world, and some of them drive for a living. Some drive taxis, some drive for Uber - heck, some even drive for both!

While both environments are also home to plenty of honest and kind drivers, the stories of scams persist - and we share them, so that you can be aware and protect yourself.


I Was Victim of an Increasingly-Popular Uber Scam - Angelina Travels

"The good thing about Uber is that both drivers and passengers are rated at the end of the ride to help weed out 'bad apples'. We all know how important maintaining a good rating is, and I always make sure I rate honestly and accurately to encourage good service... Sadly, it looks like I’ve encountered a bad apple 2 days ago when my husband and I rode home from Newark airport. It was 1:30 in the morning.. [read the rest of the story on Angelina Travels]

Please Help - I think an Uber driver is trying to scam me - dinosaurenthusiast on Reddit

"Some friends and I went out to a bar, had 1-2 drinks, then got an Uber home. The next morning, I got an email from uber saying I was being charged a cleaning fee for an incident during our ride. I immediately submitted a complaint, saying there were no liquids or cigarettes with us in the vehicle, so I could not imagine what they could possibly charge several hundred dollars for. Two days later, they finally responded with photo "evidence" saying we vomited all over the back seat and door. This is absolutely false... [read the rest of the story on Reddit]. (Read more on the Uber Vomit Scam).

I got Scammed by an Uber Driver in Los Angeles going to the Airport - Points Summary

"I took an Uber to LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) for my trip to San Pedro Sula, Hondruas. It was late at night around 9:30pm and I told him I was leaving out of Delta Terminal 5. When the Uber driver took me to the “Arrivals Levels”, I knew I was going to be scammed. Why would he choose to go to the arrivals level other than the departures level? Because he knew that every flight on Earth was arriving at 9pm and that we would be stuck in traffic going from Terminal 1 to 5..." [read the rest of the story on Points Summary]

Related resources
Uber fraud: Scammer takes the ride, victim gets the bill - CSO Online
The Uber tip dilemma - IHateTaxis
Why we shelved Uber updates - IHateTaxis
Uber provides the taxi industry a good kick in the pants - IHateTaxis