The New UberPool and Lyft Line Scam That Cheats Rideshare Drivers
In the past 6 months, there have been a few scams that have hit drivers. The biggest ones were scams that robs drivers of their weekly earnings. Scammers call Lyft and Uber drivers pretending to be employees of their respective companies and they ask for their login information or asks them to change their direct pay details. Once they do that, the scammers login and drain their earnings.
You can read more about the scams below
A New Day, A New Scam
I have written a few posts about both rideshare passenger and rideshare driver scams. There are a few ways that drivers are cheated out of money:
- Passenger cancels mid-ride and hopes they get back home on a shortened fare
- Passenger puts pin at a lower surge area and asks to be picked up at a higher surge area
- Passenger wants to go somewhere very far (more than 50 miles) but the credit card used is fraudulent.
There is also a newer scam where passengers falsely reports that drivers are driving drunk or dangerously in order to try to get a free ride. The driver gets suspended while they investigate. You can read more about this scam in the below post:
UberPool and Lyft Line Have Fixed Prices
The biggest feature with UberPool and Lyft Line is that passengers share a ride at a discounted price. This all depends on the pickup and dropoff location not changing. Many passengers think they can do whatever they want on any Uber or Lyft trip, but they are much more strict on Lyft Line and UberPool. The prices are calculated based on the exact pickup and dropoff location, so drivers are asked not to deviate from this at any time. I believe that Lyft and Uber even clarified that drivers will not be paid for longer trips.
How Passengers Take Advantage of UberPool and Lyft Line
Passengers know that their cost is fixed, regardless of where they end up. If they want to get out early, they are still charged the same price. If they get out of the car much further away from their destination, they also pay the same price since it is still based on the original pickup and dropoff location. Some passengers have caught onto it, so what they try to do is request that they get dropped off much further than their original dropoff location. They are charged the same price and as a driver, you only get paid to drive from pickup to dropoff. Drivers are not automatically paid more to drive at a further pickup spot.
Sometimes, Lyft or Uber will adjust the price of the trip. However, since there is almost no proof that the passenger is still in the car going to the further dropoff location, the passenger can say that the driver is lying and intentionally driving longer to get a higher fare. It will be your word against theirs, unless you have dashcam footage. I typically ask my passengers to change the destination on their phone so they can’t lie about not wanting to go to a different destination. However, no one can change the dropoff locations on a Lyft Line or UberPool.
I never change the destination on an Uberpool or Lyft Line. I always drop them off according to the application, which is easier said than done sometimes. I maintain that this is how Lyft Line and UberPool works and that I will get penalized if I don’t follow the rules.
How Do I Prevent It?
The first step is to not accept UberPool or Lyft Line unless you are going for Lyft Power Driver bonus or some kind of hourly guarantee on either Uber or Lyft. I personally do like how Lyft Line works compared to UberPool. However, both options typically yields lower earnings so it is best to avoid it unless you are very far away from the busy area and just need a ride.
The second step is to make sure that you never deviate from the pickup and drop off location. The scam only works when you agree to drive to a different location. Also, stay true to the pickup location and mark them no-show if they don’t appear in two minutes. This is an easy way to get a cancellation fee. Because of GPS locations, it is very hard for a passenger to be able to say the driver weren’t in the right place so you usually can keep that cancellation fee.
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