Beware of phishing scammers

 

I was online last night when I got an Uber request for a pick up at my local hospital.

The rider called me, which is common for our hospital riders, most likely to tell me where to pick them up. I answered and was suprised to hear a voice announcing that he was with Uber Support.  At that moment the ride was cancelled.

The caller told me that there was a customer complaint that I looked different from the photo on my driver profile.  Having grown a beard over the winter, I thought that could be the reason and explained to the alleged support person.  He told me to go off line and my account would be temporarily deactivated until I could verify who I was.  He asked me to verify my phone number and told me he would disconnect the line and call me back on that number.   I didn't see any harm in that so I gave him that information.  He also aksed me for my license plate number for verification.  No harm in that so I gave it to him.

Then he asked me for my uber balance and to log into my bank and give him my balances.  On that, I started getting suspicious and gave him false numbers.   

This guy was good.  He had searched my phone number and had my address as well as the name of my wife.  When it started to smell phishy I asked him to verify himself by naming my wife who is named on the vehicle registration, which he did.

When he said that it matched the information he had red flages with up.  He then told me that I was verified but a notification came up from my financial institution regarding my account number.  He wanted that number to clear it up on his end. 

I told him no way, and at that point he told me that he had no other option but to deactivated me.

You could smell the BS coming over the phone line.  I said go ahead and hung up.

I then called Uber Support and notifed them of the Phishing scammer.  I gave them the ride request time and pick up location as well as the telephone number they used to call me.  Hopefully they got deactivated from the platform.

I then did a search of the phone number to discover it was a Google Voice number.  Google was closed last night and they rarely talk to humans so notifying them would be a waste of time.  I did file a complaint with FTC.GOV, giving them the number and the details of the scam call.

This serves as a warning to all to never give out account numbers over the phone to anyone saying they are with Uber or Lyft.  

Lyft, Uber leaving Minneapolis and the impact on the area's most vulnerable population

Opinion: An entire community is going to lose service because some drivers and government officials do not understand that contract workers get paid by the job, not the hour.  

When government intervenes this usually result in termination of service, lower wages for contract workers or lower wages plus union dues for contract workers.

When people decide to work a gig job they really have to closely investigate all the advantages and disadvantages.

Serveral years ago in California, drivers went on strike at LAX and made the news.  A member of the California State Senate siezed the opportunity and had a labor union write a bill that would force ride share and food delivery companies to pay minimum wage to drivers as well as provide benefits.  This almost resulted in Uber, Lyft and some delivery companies pulling the plug on operations. A petition campaign, known as Proposition 22, urged drivers to promote the signing of the petition and voting for the ballot initiative. Prop 22 made it on the ballot and the California voters saved the industry but at a tremendous cost to the drivers of Lyft and Uber. They got paid less but if they gave enough rides got stipends towards health care.

In 2014 I began driving for Lyft and Uber and  was earning $1.19 a mile and 20 cents a mile on X rides.  Today drivers in Southern California are earning 61 cents a mile (sometimes 31 cents a mile at LAX) plus 25 cents a minute.   

As policies worsen I decided to invest in a Toyota Sienna and modify my business plan to only drive Uber or Lyft XL so I could earn more, sadly my gasoline was costing about $45 to $50 a day.  I would pick up at the cruise lines and only accept XL airport rides.  After that I would head to Disneyland and work only XL airport runs.  I was driving about 1000 miles a week and the trusty Toyota Sienna held up to the challenge.

The next time you hear drivers talking about a strike, ask them whose idea was it. The odds are some union is behind it and they couldn't care less about the driver. Unions only want your money.

Here is the article:

SOURCE: https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/lyft-uber-leaving-minneapolis-and-the-impact-on-the-areas-most-vulnerable-population-dakota-county/89-9d0c75ac-5248-4dfa-acb7-d8d68c0b536e

DAKOTA COUNTY, Minn. — Some local agencies are scrambling Friday to try and figure out how to keep providing transportation to the area's most vulnerable populations after Uber and Lyft announced they're leaving Minneapolis on May 1st due to a new ordinance. 

The move comes after the city council voted to give drivers a boost in pay after they argued the companies keep cutting their wages. 

Mayor Jacob Frey vetoed it, but then on Thursday, a majority of the council members overrode his veto. 

In a statement, council member Jamal Osman and co-author of the policy wrote, "The Minneapolis City Council will not allow the East African community, or any community, to be exploited for cheap labor. The Council chooses workers over corporate greed."

Uber and Lyft say fewer riders will now be able to afford the service, making operations unsustainable. Josh Gold, the senior director of public affairs at Uber says Minneapolis will be the only metro area in the United States without Uber. Gold wrote further in a statement, “We are disappointed the Council chose to ignore the data and kick Uber out of the Twin Cities, putting 10,000 people out of work and leaving many stranded. But we know that by working together with all stakeholders - drivers, riders and state leaders - we can achieve comprehensive statewide legislation that guarantees drivers a fair minimum wage, protects their independence and keeps rideshare affordable.”

Lyft says the new ordinance is deeply flawed and the rates are set higher than what a state transportation study found. The company reportedly offered the council three other pay rates. The policy communications manager, CJ Macklin, wrote, "We support a minimum earning standard for drivers, but it should be done in an honest way that keeps the service affordable for riders. This ordinance makes our operations unsustainable, and as a result, we are shutting down operations in Minneapolis when the law takes effect on May 1. We will continue to advocate for a statewide solution in Minnesota that balances the needs of riders and drivers and hope to return to Minneapolis as soon as possible."

Many organizations in Minnesota provide transportation to people with physical and cognitive barriers who say this move will have a traumatic effect. 

For example, four years ago, Dakota County partnered with Lyft to provide discounted rides to about 4,000 people a year. That includes Liz Workman's daughter, Tori, who gets a $1,000 stipend every month for rides to her job at a local grocery store. The money is funded by taxpayers. 

"They have to fix this," said Workman about the city council. "If they’re smart, they’ll get back into it and get some consensus on what’s the right thing to do."

Connect Ability of MN is a non-profit that partnered with Lyft four years ago. It says 3,000 people use the ride-share company and they're busy letting all those clients now know what might happen next. 

"They're literally going to have to quit their jobs because they will have no transportation to get to them," said Connect Ability of MN Executive Director Sheri Wegner. "We’re going to create isolation and we’re going to create problems with increased demand on social services and case managers in the state of Minnesota who are going to be under tremendous pressure."

She says that can lead to even further limited access to other things like stable housing, food and appointments. Wegner did commend the city council for approving a livable wage for drivers, but questions at what cost. 

"They stuck to their guns on their highest price and now everybody else has to pay the price for that," said Wegner. "That's very unfortunate."

Wegner says her clients will have to rely more on cab companies and metro transit. And even if her clients can use rideshare, it could mean more transfers and a higher cost to skirt around the city Uber and Lyft will no longer serve.

Online Rideshare inspections.

When we moved to New Mexico we discovered this service and found it to be super easy and affordable. 

Inspection fee is $25.

If you drive both Lyft and Uber you can combine the inspection for $39.

https://smartride.club/uber-inspection/