MIAMI — Recent reports of scammers preying on Uber drivers and passengers have been making the rounds online.
NBC Miami and WPLG reported this past week of a passenger who was trying to get a ride to the airport using the app but was instead hacked and locked out of his account.
The news outlets say the man was told to give his phone number to the driver and relay the four-digit code he received.
After doing so, the man said he was locked out of his account and later received a notification from his bank that his credit card was charged $206.
The reason this happened was that the code the passenger received was part of Uber's two-factor authentication. The company says it's a new security measure it has taken on so that users have an extra layer of protection when accessing their accounts. But, it's also something hackers are using to their advantage.
In a statement, an Uber spokesperson said:
"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 says these kinds of scams are rare but have been reported before. The company only requires two-factor authentication when it detects someone is logging into an account from a different device.
So, when a driver or passenger gets the verification code, it's important to not share the information.
If riders believe they've been scammed, Uber says they can report the issue to the company's website or through the Uber app.
