Imposter scam targets Milwaukee Uber driver
MILWAUKEE - An imposter scam is stealing money from Uber drivers. One driver tells Contact 6 he lost a full day's earnings to the scam.
At the end of a six-hour shift of driving for Uber in Milwaukee, Mohammed Haseeb Khan says his earnings were wiped out in minutes.
"I felt very sad," said Khan. "I thought, instead of going to Uber I could have stayed with my family."
Mohammed Haseeb Khan
Khan had just accepted his last ride of the day when he took a phone call. He thought the call from coming from his next rider. Instead, the caller claimed to be with Uber Support.
"(The scammer) said in the past 48 hours, we have gotten three to four complaints from customers," said Khan.
The scammer told Khan that Uber Support had gotten complaints about Khan speeding, driving drunk and using a profile picture that wasn’t him.
Mohammed Haseeb Khan
"Never was I speeding," said Khan. "Being a Muslim, I don’t drink. I was just confused."
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Khan’s hair may be shorter in his Uber profile picture but it’s him. He also has a nearly five-star driver rating.
After their conversation, the scammer told Khan that the allegations were false. He offered Khan compensation for the 20-minute phone call.
"He said, ‘We are going to give you a gift card of 200.’ I said, "OK, that’s good," recalled Khan.
Mohammed Haseeb Khan
Uber pays Khan after each ride by sending money to his Uber Pro Card, which is a debit card. When Khan followed the scammer’s instructions for claiming his money from Uber Support, his earnings were withdrawn instead.
An Uber spokesperson told Contact 6, "This driver’s experience is frustrating and appears to be the result of a deliberate scam, commonly known as an ‘imposter scam.’"
According to Uber, it "will never ask drivers to disclose personal account information – this includes verification codes and passwords – and users should not share these sensitive details with anyone."
Khan is still giving rides in Milwaukee, but wants to spare other drivers the frustration of being taken for one.
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"I lost $150 but some people can lose more than that. I want people to be safe with their money. I wish it doesn’t happen to anybody," said Khan.
Uber says it will never call or text a user asking for personal information like a phone number, email address, password, SSN, credit card or two-factor verification code.
Full statement from Uber spokesperson
"Account security is something we take very seriously. This driver’s experience is frustrating and appears to be the result of a deliberate scam, commonly known as an ‘imposter scam.’ We’ve been in touch with him.
It is very important to note that Uber will never ask users to disclose personal account information - this includes verification codes and passwords - and users should not share these sensitive details with anyone. We continue to invest in robust fraud detection systems to combat issues like this. We encourage anyone who believes they are a victim to a scam to reach out so we can further look into it."