Taylor Mackay was on her way to Vancouver International Airport and ordered an Uber to get there, but the experience was less than ideal.
Mackay shared her story about what she called a “new Uber scam” on TikTok, and she agreed to share some of the details with Daily Hive Urbanized.
According to Mackay, after she had ordered her Uber, she got a phone call. She initially ignored it, but figured it was her driver, so she picked up the call.
“I just want to let you know I’m almost there,” is what the voice on the other end told Mackay.
She said the name matched and initially wasn’t concerned. Things took a weird turn, though. He requested her phone number.
“Maybe it’s just some verification thing,” Mackay recounted in her video.
She relented and provided her number, but then the driver asked for “the code.”
She received a code via text, and she figured he was requesting the code that you provide the Uber driver when you get in the vehicle. The driver said that wasn’t the code and that it had expired. He was asking for a code that went to her email inbox.
Mackay remarked that the experience was “so weird” and that she’d never had to do what the driver was requesting when ordering an Uber.
At this point, the app informed her that he was already nearby, parked around the corner, according to Mackay. She started getting frustrated and said, “I don’t think you need this code.”
She said that he also started to get frustrated at her reluctance. Mackay claimed that he told her this was a “special verification we need for today.”
That’s when it hit her that it was a potential scam. She protested and said she was going to cancel the ride, and he got more frustrated and cancelled the ride.
After that, she looked at the fine print under the code she was emailed, which stated that an Uber driver would never ask for it. That’s when she sensed he was trying to access her account.
Uber actually left a comment on Mackay’s video, saying, “Support Team Here – this is concerning to hear. We are currently investigating and have escalated this to a specialized team for further review.”
She responded, “lol.”
Her video has received nearly 1,000 comments and over 35,000 likes.
@taylorrmackay Watch out Vancouver friends!!! (Oh and update, @Uber told me they gave him a “warning”🥰) #uber #scams #watchout #vancouver #fyp ♬ original sound – Taylor Mackay
What Uber had to say about the Vancouver scam attempt
Lutsenko Oleksandr/Shutterstock
Uber told Daily Hive Urbanized that these scams are very rare, but Mackay disagrees.
“The comments on my video show how many people got the same response and experience,” she told Daily Hive Urbanized. She said that some people have claimed to be blocked from the platform for trying to get help.
She also informed us that she had never received financial compensation for the trip and provided us with a copy of her conversation with Uber’s support team.
“We ensure that the driver will be sent a warning for this incident. Drivers are sent warnings as well for high cancellation rates, and it’s in the best interest of all users that cancellations occur as infrequently as possible,” support told Mackay.
Uber shared some additional info with Daily Hive about this scam and others like it.
“Riders and drivers should never share personal account information, such as passwords or verification codes, with anyone. We take the security of users’ accounts very seriously, and if users believe they have been scammed, we encourage them to report it to us so we can investigate and take action,” Uber said.
Uber also informed us that variations of this scam have existed for a while, evolving as security protocols change.
“Uber uses several prevention techniques, including two-factor authentication, that make it harder for scammers to target riders and drivers through traditional methods,” Uber added.
“If a rider believes they have been involved in a scam, they can report the issue to our team to investigate at help.uber.com or through the Uber App.”
Uber has some additional tips on its website.
In case you missed it, we published a story about another resident’s experience with a very different type of scam attempt through Uber in August.
Have you had an Uber experience like this? Please let us know in the comments or email Vancouver@dailyhive.com if you’d like to share your story.