Beauty writer warns others over ride share act while in Uber

A woman has shared an urgent warning about a ride share “scam” after an uncomfortable experience she had with a driver.

A woman has shared an urgent warning about a ride share “scam” after an uncomfortable experience she had with a driver cancelling her trip as she got in the car.

Beauty writer Gemma Dimond took to TikTok over the weekend to share a “scary” experience during an Uber trip in Melbourne.

“I booked an Uber home and as I got into the Uber the driver cancelled the trip,” she said.

“I got into the car, checked the number plate and everything, and he cancelled the trip. He said it looked like the app was glitching.”

The driver asked Mrs Dimond for her address so he could put it into a navigation app, and said he’d calculate the fare on a different app and she could just transfer him the money.

Mrs Dimond told a lie on the spot, claiming it was a work card and she needed to pay with it. It allowed her to get out of the car.

Thankfully, a friend was waiting outside the vehicle and ordered another Uber.

“I don’t love it, keep your eyes out,” she said.

Others reported having similar experiences, with one saying they had the exact same thing happen to them at Melbourne Airport.

Gem Dimond is a beauty writer. Picture: Instagram/@gemdimond

“This exact thing happened to me in February from Melbourne airport and I told them the same thing and they took me back,” one said.

Another said: “Happened to me! Got out asap and ordered a new one. Freaked me out lol.”

One claimed the driver likely did it to avoid Uber’s fees.

Mrs Dimond told news.com.au that she didn’t think the driver was trying to do her harm.

“It’s just left me feeling the need to be even more cautious than I did already,” she said.

“I don’t believe the driver was trying to harm me, given that he let me out of the vehicle as soon as I asked him to do so — I think he was likely just trying to get the full fare for himself.

“That said, being a woman means I’m pretty constantly on high alert, whether that be in a ride share vehicle or walking down the street alone. Knowing my ride wouldn’t have been tracked made me feel pretty unsafe.

“I catch several Ubers a week and I’ve found the majority of drivers to be great, so this has just been a reminder for me to make sure someone always knows where I am (much the same as I do if I’m walking somewhere).”

She shared a "scary" Uber experience. Picture: TikTok/@gemdimond

She said she shared her story online to help anyone else who may be in a similar situation.

“I shared my experience purely to ensure anyone else who finds themselves in a similar situation knows that they can (and should) get out as you never really know what could happen,” she said.

“I’ve heard of things like this happening to others, and I know a number of people who’ve just frozen up and gone along with it. I figured sharing my experience could help someone out.”

She said while she’s never had this exact thing happen to her before, there have been times she was spoken to by a driver that made her feel uncomfortable.

However, she reported what happened to Uber and said the support team have been “very thorough and helpful”, the same way they have always been when she’s had an issue.

She wanted to warn others. Picture: Instagram/@gemdimond

“Fraudulent activity such as driver-partners encouraging riders to pay for a trip outside of the Uber platform is a clear breach of Uber’s Community Guidelines and this kind of behaviour can result in driver-partners permanently losing access to the app. We encourage riders to report behaviour such as this via the help section of our app, so we can take action right away,” an Uber spokesperson told news.com.au.

“We encourage all riders to familiarise themselves with the steps to take before entering a vehicle, including checking the drivers’ photo and licence number, as well as using the optional PIN verification safety feature.”

Uber has many safety features, including trips being GPS tracked in real time, Share My Trip so friends can see your location and On-Trip reporting.

Originally published as Beauty writer warns others over ride share act while in Uber