Uber riders are again getting charged thousands of dollars for trips they didn't take

Many of the rides were logged in Europe, and debited thousands of dollars from user accounts.
By Yvette Tan  on 
Uber riders are again getting charged thousands of dollars for trips they didn't take

Uber's "phantom rides" have struck again.

Multiple Uber riders in Singapore are reporting being charged for rides halfway across the world that they never took, with charges of up to $2,949 (S$4,000).

One Uber rider says she was charged some $958 (S$1,300) for up to 30 rides she did not take.

"I logged in to check my bank account and realised all my money was being used for Uber transactions," Jenna Lim told Mashable.

"I called the bank immediately and cancelled my card. Uber [later] called me and...[said] that they were reviewing the incident and that they would refund me within 3-5 days."

According to Lim, the 30 transactions took place over just five days. She added that in future she would choose cash as her payment method instead going forward.

Many others in the comments also chimed in to share similar experiences they had faced.

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Another Uber rider in Singapore, Daphne Loo, was also charged hundreds of dollars for Uber trips she didn't take. Additionally, her rides appeared to have occurred in the UK, some 6,000 miles away from Singapore.

The same thing also happened to Richard Toh, who discovered more than 75 transactions made to his credit card over 2 weeks. In his case, his rides were traced to Europe, and he was reportedly charged more than $2,949 (S$4,000).

A spokesperson from Uber told Mashable that they were "reviewing the incident" and would address it accordingly.

"We would like to assure the public that payment information is encrypted when you enter it into the Uber app," added the spokesperson from Uber Singapore. 

The spokesperson listed reasons such as devices being compromised, and a user's habits in safeguarding personal information security as reasons why such incidents would occur.

They also added that Uber would work to refund the charges.

This isn't the first time Uber riders around the world have been charged for rides they didn't take.

Last year, Londoners were charged for rides in countries from New York to Mexico.

Check your bank account, in the meantime.

Topics Uber

Mashable Image
Yvette Tan

Yvette is a Viral Content Reporter at Mashable Asia. She was previously reporting for BBC's Singapore bureau and Channel NewsAsia.


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