UBER Scam Part II: Was it an Extortion Attempt?

First, UBER covered an account created using a stolen card (read about it here), then attempted to extort any funds recovered by my bank.

Here’s how the situation unfolded:

During the email exchanges outlined in the article above (read about it here), UBER continued to refer to the fraudulent account as a duplicate set up by me, not by a thief using stolen card details.

My bank was advised, who cancelled the card and began an investigation. I then made a police report

First, UBER offered to combine the two accounts, insisting all trips were legitimate. I declined and referred him to the bank and police complaints. I informed the agent that the bank would issue chargebacks as the fraudulent account had been using a stolen card.

Read the UBER (agent Dhey) response below:

“Hi Alan,

We’ve reviewed these trips and the pickup and drop off locations are consistent with the rest of your trip history.

We are considering this a legitimate charge, and are unable to offer a refund at this time. If you have any other details regarding this trip you feel we should know, please let us know, and we’ll take another look.

Each Uber account must be associated with one unique mobile number and one unique email address. If two or more accounts, share the same information, a number of different problems can occur.

If you let us know the email address and phone number you’d like to use on your primary Uber account, we’ll update that information as needed and close your duplicate account to prevent any confusion.

Sent by Dhey on Thursday, September 19, 2019 at 9:34:50 AM
Continue this conversation by replying to this email or going to help in your Uber app.”

 

Unless the thief lives at my home address, and goes to the airport, it is unlikely the trips were similar.

Further exchanges with agent Ryan.

UBER agent Ryan then made the follow statement:

Agent Ryan advised that even if the bank issued chargebacks, UBER would require payment before further trips could be made.

It was unclear whether the agent referred to the legitimate, or fraudulent account.

In other words, even if the bank determined the trips were fraudulent, UBER would want me to pay for them.

See response below:-

“A message from Uber
·
Hi Alan,

As mentioned after careful review, we were not able to find any evidence of unauthorized access to your account. The request for this trip came from a device associated with your account which has requested legitimate rides and orders in the past. There are no signs of fraudulent activity on your account or your duplicate account there for your trips are considered legitimate. So if you were able to process a chargeback you’ll have an outstanding balance on your account that you will need to pay in order to use the service again.

We’ve also found common identifiers in terms of the delivery address between your order history and the request in question. Given these, we are unable to make any adjustments at this time.

We suggest following up with anyone who may have physical access to your phone to see if they have taken a ride.

Thank you.

Sent by Ryan on Saturday, September 21, 2019 at 5:21:56 AM
Continue this conversation by replying to this email or going to help in your Uber app.”

What has happened since:

The bank has since refunded all trips, and issued a new credit card. UBER closed the fraudulent account as stated in the previous article.

However, throughout the exchange, UBER insisted the duplicate account was mine, but had been accessed illegitimately.

This was never the case. On at least 30 occasions, I stated clearly that the other account was not a duplicate, but one created by persons unknown, to defraud.

Since no details were ever forward, I was not able to verify any UBER claims.

Has UBER tried to force you to pay for fraudulent trips?

If you have a story to tell, let us know in the comments below.