Cruising the streets of Kelowna as an Uber driver, Kyle Ferguson often receives ride requests which are then cancelled. It happens, and he says it is not a big deal.
“He knew the ride I was just on and was able to get into my app. He was texting me things through their app and through my account…. to verify if it was me,” said Ferguson. For more than 20 days Ferguson says he tried to sign up for a new account or speak with a representative who could explain how someone was able to infiltrate his account and speak with him on the phone as a phoney Uber representative, but stated he received no help from the company. “I had to speak with maybe 10 or 15 people to get a new account approved. But, in my last account I was a gold member, which gets me perks and better rides and now I don’t have that,” he explained.
Black Press Media contacted Uber Canada, to ask if the company was aware of independent contractors who may be getting hacked by someone pretending to be a Uber representative. Two-factor authentication is used by to make it harder for scammers to target drivers through traditional methods.