Post from elsewhere she's light on the scamming:
Driver007 says:
December 7, 2019 at 6:22 pm
I drive for Uber and Lyft. The amount of fraud is overwhelming. What’s worse, Uber and Lyft are well aware of it but VERY disinterested in doing anything about it.
I have reported my experience and knowledge to Uber and Lyft. At first they act as though they have never heard of it. As you make it apparent that you know exactly what is going on, they admit to knowing what you are talking about but state there is nothing they can do about it and then try to assure you they are doing everything they can to combat fraud.
Two of the biggest scams occur at the airports and mostly only impact other drivers.
The first is something called phone holding. There will be one or two people holding other drivers phones. Those phones are set to only except the higher fares such as Select, Lux and XL. The owners of those phones will be out in the city picking up other fares on another platform using a second phone. When the phone at the airport gets low in the queue, the phone holder will call them and let them know to come back to the airport. They will them hand over the phone they were out on and set it to the higher fares while they take this fare and the process starts all over again. Sometimes they will call the rider after accepting the ride to find out where they are going. If it is not far enough to be a big fare, they will cancel with one of the options that retains their place in the queue. For honest drivers this means unless you are in on the scam you have no hope of getting a higher fare out of the airport.
The second scam is more widely known. It is called “cooking the surge”. The drivers watch various apps including the airports Blue Board to see when the flights are coming in. When they see a large block of flights they will go offline and wait for a surge to build. Once the surge is high, they will come back on line and start accepting rides. The drivers make excuses such as Uber or Lyft is ripping them off with low payouts and it is the only way they can make money. Whatever helps you sleep at night, I guess.
Another popular airport scam is to fake your GPS location. Using various apps, you can be seen in a location you are not. For instance, you c an be seen at the airport, waiting in the queue all the while you are actually out giving rides in the city or suburbs.
Some drivers will take the long way. If you are from out of town, chances are you are taking the long way so the driver can make a few extra bucks.
Another popular scam is to ride the meter. They driver will not end your ride for a few blocks or miles after they drop you off. This is most likely to happen if your destination is way out in the suburbs where the driver will most likely not get a ride back to where it is busy.
The ride share platforms don’t care because most people don’t complain or even notice. At best, the platforms are complicit by way of having a blind eye to it all. In most cases they know very well what is happening but it is money in their pockets also.
It is becoming more and more difficult to be honest and make a buck driving for any ride share platforms.
Driver007 says:
December 7, 2019 at 6:22 pm
I drive for Uber and Lyft. The amount of fraud is overwhelming. What’s worse, Uber and Lyft are well aware of it but VERY disinterested in doing anything about it.
I have reported my experience and knowledge to Uber and Lyft. At first they act as though they have never heard of it. As you make it apparent that you know exactly what is going on, they admit to knowing what you are talking about but state there is nothing they can do about it and then try to assure you they are doing everything they can to combat fraud.
Two of the biggest scams occur at the airports and mostly only impact other drivers.
The first is something called phone holding. There will be one or two people holding other drivers phones. Those phones are set to only except the higher fares such as Select, Lux and XL. The owners of those phones will be out in the city picking up other fares on another platform using a second phone. When the phone at the airport gets low in the queue, the phone holder will call them and let them know to come back to the airport. They will them hand over the phone they were out on and set it to the higher fares while they take this fare and the process starts all over again. Sometimes they will call the rider after accepting the ride to find out where they are going. If it is not far enough to be a big fare, they will cancel with one of the options that retains their place in the queue. For honest drivers this means unless you are in on the scam you have no hope of getting a higher fare out of the airport.
The second scam is more widely known. It is called “cooking the surge”. The drivers watch various apps including the airports Blue Board to see when the flights are coming in. When they see a large block of flights they will go offline and wait for a surge to build. Once the surge is high, they will come back on line and start accepting rides. The drivers make excuses such as Uber or Lyft is ripping them off with low payouts and it is the only way they can make money. Whatever helps you sleep at night, I guess.
Another popular airport scam is to fake your GPS location. Using various apps, you can be seen in a location you are not. For instance, you c an be seen at the airport, waiting in the queue all the while you are actually out giving rides in the city or suburbs.
Some drivers will take the long way. If you are from out of town, chances are you are taking the long way so the driver can make a few extra bucks.
Another popular scam is to ride the meter. They driver will not end your ride for a few blocks or miles after they drop you off. This is most likely to happen if your destination is way out in the suburbs where the driver will most likely not get a ride back to where it is busy.
The ride share platforms don’t care because most people don’t complain or even notice. At best, the platforms are complicit by way of having a blind eye to it all. In most cases they know very well what is happening but it is money in their pockets also.
It is becoming more and more difficult to be honest and make a buck driving for any ride share platforms.
