Beware the fake Uber and Lift drivers at airports.

[Olds442]

I saw these guys at JFK today. telling people they can jump into an uber at the taxi stand only to find out they weren't uber and wouldn't accept anything but cash.

i confirmed that those were the fake ubers in the taxi line from someone who was returned to the airport by one of the fake uber drivers that couldn't accept payment through the app or her credit card. she said she'd pay through the app but the driver said "it didn't work that way here, it's cash only."

her cost to times square would have been twice what i paid in a taxi.

Uber warns of fake-driver scam spike at city airports

The terminals at the city’s airports are being plagued by bogus cabdrivers claiming to work for car-hailing apps like Uber or Lyft — and its gotten so bad that Uber has lodged an official complaint…

nypost.com

when uber'ing, obviously only book through the app, they don't have people on site directing you to a black sedan parked with the taxis. ever.

 

[Roberteaux]

Back when I worked at Daytona International, commercial ground transportation operators represented one of the more consistent enforcement issues faced by the management/authorities. They generated a whole bunch of headaches for themselves, and other people as well.

We used to have to leave a guy in a uniform with the cab drivers just to keep them straight-- to keep them from solicitation, from ripping fares off from one another, overloading their vehicles, operating without city or airport permits, and all that sort of thing.

They tended to behave as though these activities were a kind of sport, and did stuff just to burn one another while also getting on everyone else's nerves. I always felt kind of bad for the guys we used as cab starters, and thought the whole thing was just... asinine. But for some reason, our drivers were mostly a group who could be counted upon to try to do all kinds of strange (and usually unlawful) things just for a few extra $$$.

And these guys were the ones who had permits to operate at the airport! When you added gypsy drivers, people without permits, and all the rest of the opportunists, things became even more difficult and vexatious.

Don't know how many times they'd get into fights with one another, and so forth. Some of them seemed as though they simply could not play it straight.

--R

 

[Harmony]

Yes, unfortunately it happened to my friends from England who I met up with in NYC recently .
They were waiting for a taxi at JFK and a man came up and said they could jump into his car, thinking it was a taxi. He told them he was Uber and only when they were inside the car moving, he said cash only .
My friend asked how much it will be and he said it was ok he would give discount as it was cash.

It ended up being twice the amount he should have paid and when he asked for a generous tip, my friend told him to F off .

When he was going back to JFK, I told him to get the yellow cab as it has a standard fee to airport.

 

[rxbandit]

Easy to avoid, only book through the app and make sure the license plate number on the app matches your ride that shows up. Shitty for those who fall for it though.

 

[Harmony]

Easy to avoid, only book through the app and make sure the license plate number on the app matches your ride that shows up. Shitty for those who fall for it though.

Not really easy to avoid for International visitors. They may not take their phone or their plan may not use non wifi data. They target foreigners more than anything, knowing this. Lots of vulnerable tourists out there.

 

[Teledan]

I don't understand how this can be a thing. I don't use Uber/Lyft a ton but I travel for work a couple times a year and use it then. It is very simple though. You open up the app, put in the destination you want to go to and then it tells you who is picking you up, including the make/model/color of car and license plate number. You don't get into any other car.

 

[Gtarzan81]

I used to run the front drive for several high end hotels that start with a W.

My biggest headaches were the taxi drivers. This was well before Uber was even a thing.

We had about 3 Lincoln Town car drivers we would use as much as possible. They were professionals and the kickbacks were decent.

 

[Teledan]

Not really easy to avoid for International visitors. They may not take their phone or their plan may not use non wifi data. They target foreigners more than anything, knowing this. Lots of vulnerable tourists out there.

I guess that is true, and for people who are not familiar with how the ride sharing apps work.

 

[rxbandit]

Not really easy to avoid for International visitors. They may not take their phone or their plan may not use non wifi data. They target foreigners more than anything, knowing this. Lots of vulnerable tourists out there.

Uber/Lyft is a phone app, there's no such thing as just getting into an Uber/Lyft like a taxi. You have to book your ride on the app. I don't know anyone who travels without a phone.

 

[Harmony]

Uber/Lyft is a phone app, there's no such thing as just getting into an Uber/Lyft like a taxi. You have to book your ride on the app. I don't know anyone who travels without a phone.

My friend was waiting in the regular taxi stop. He did not order Uber. A driver walked over to him and said to come over to his car (thinking it was a taxi). New to NYC, he didnt know how it worked at the airports. The driver told him after he got in he was a Uber taxi ..my friend said he did not have the app. Driver said, its ok as this was cash only. He was duped.
He has never used Uber back in England as he has never needed to use them. Lots of transportation back there,

Also many international visitors do not bring a phone as it is can be costly to use in another country. Those that do, usually only use the phone for wifi purposes only, so they don't roam. (my son did this on his recent visit to Taiwan and Singapore. Too costly to use phone).
Uber is not available everywhere so you will also get many around the world who never heard of them or used them before. (in fact even here in the US outside of cities.) As I said, foreign visitors are easy targets.

 

[rxbandit]

My friend was waiting in the regular taxi stop. He did not order Uber. A driver walked over to him and said to come over to his car (thinking it was a taxi). New to NYC, he didnt know how it worked at the airports. The driver told him after he got in he was a Uber taxi ..my friend said he did not have the app. Driver said, its ok as this was cash only. He was duped.
He has never used Uber back in England as he has never needed to use them. Lots of transportation back there,

Also many international visitors do not bring a phone as it is can be costly to use in another country. Those that do, usually only use the phone for wifi purposes only, so they don't roam. (my son did this on his recent visit to Taiwan and Singapore. Too costly to use phone).
Uber is not available everywhere so you will also get many around the world who never heard of them or used them before. (in fact even here in the US outside of cities.) As I said, foreign visitors are easy targets.

This scam is still easy to avoid, most scams only work on easy targets. People need more due diligence and personal responsibility