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Passenger Scam: Riders don't get off.

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AsStibelDude
669 Driver
 Posted 5 years, 8 months ago

This happens to be from time to time but I never gave it that much thought in the past.  However, it happened multiple times in the same night, so I am becoming carefully suspicious.  Is this starting to become a scam?

Story:

Last Friday night, I picked up a girl in her 30s.  It was a bit on the late side, maybe 8:00.  The drop off was at the end of Comm Ave, at the hotel called Taj, where I pulled in and completed the ride.  She then said, "Oh (acting surprised), I live over by Clarendon. The pin must not have been in the right place."  It's three blocks away, I didn't have another request, so I just zoomed over there.  No problem.  Maybe lost a buck.

(However, I remember thinking something isn't right.  I usually say before ending a trip, "is this good?" and I am pretty sure I did for this drop off too.  It made me wonder why she seemed surprised.  Maybe I didn't ask because the marker was at a hotel, and that is a pretty prominent location?)

Then later that night, I got a request to take two guys to North End, a busy area of Boston.  The destination was specified at the end of Hanover St, so I arrived there and completed the trip.  Then one of the guys leans in and asks, "The place we are going to is actually is on all the way on the other side.  Can you be a pal and drop us off at XYZ?"

Now, I KNEW that'd be suicide to go up that road, as it is very busy on a Friday night.  So I politely declined.  Another guy was a bit cranky, which was a bit weird since it wasn't raining or anything, but he made a comment how I am supposed to take them anywhere they specify.  It was an awkward…

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This happens to be from time to time but I never gave it that much thought in the past.  However, it happened multiple times in the same night, so I am becoming carefully suspicious.  Is this starting to become a scam?

Story:

Last Friday night, I picked up a girl in her 30s.  It was a bit on the late side, maybe 8:00.  The drop off was at the end of Comm Ave, at the hotel called Taj, where I pulled in and completed the ride.  She then said, "Oh (acting surprised), I live over by Clarendon. The pin must not have been in the right place."  It's three blocks away, I didn't have another request, so I just zoomed over there.  No problem.  Maybe lost a buck.

(However, I remember thinking something isn't right.  I usually say before ending a trip, "is this good?" and I am pretty sure I did for this drop off too.  It made me wonder why she seemed surprised.  Maybe I didn't ask because the marker was at a hotel, and that is a pretty prominent location?)

Then later that night, I got a request to take two guys to North End, a busy area of Boston.  The destination was specified at the end of Hanover St, so I arrived there and completed the trip.  Then one of the guys leans in and asks, "The place we are going to is actually is on all the way on the other side.  Can you be a pal and drop us off at XYZ?"

Now, I KNEW that'd be suicide to go up that road, as it is very busy on a Friday night.  So I politely declined.  Another guy was a bit cranky, which was a bit weird since it wasn't raining or anything, but he made a comment how I am supposed to take them anywhere they specify.  It was an awkward exchange, but all was good.

Here's the thought:

The night ended peacefully (and that's always a good thing for an Uber driver), but this made me think.  Why would the destination pins be dropped off so conveniently for these riders?  Were they intentional? Both instances, it turns out they both knew exactly where they were going.  The girl knew where she lives.  Why wouldn't she enter the exact address?  Why did she wait until I swiped "Complete" to tell me she lived three blocks away?  What about the guys?  Did they not know which restaurants they were going to?  I mean, until I specifically swiped "Complete Trip?"

Don't get me wrong.  I do often get passengers who adjust the drop off.  That happens all the time, but here I sit, wondering if people intentionally drop the pins in favorable locations and/or wait for the ride to complete before asking for just a bit more. It seems so cheap to me.

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Comments

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    dShaperoMDM
    112
     5 years ago

    Comm Ave and Clarendon is like the most affluent area of the city.  There is no way she cared to save a dollar.  My guess is that it was an honest mistake.

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      lguirch
      80 Driver
       5 years ago

      I do not hit compete ride before they come out of the car. Occasionally I will get a talker who just wants to tell me about their life story and can go on after we arrived so I keep the meter going until they exit. This is a good practice in case someone exits and realizes they need to go up further. I too always ask passengers if “here is ok”? To make sure I got them where they intended to go.

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      ElinaM
      43
       5 years ago

      Maybe she didn't live there, and just said she did.  

      and if she didn't live there, maybe she just made an honest mistake?

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        AsStibelDude
        OP 669 Driver
         5 years ago

        If she didn't live there, then she lied.  So there's definitely something shady here.

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    FitBitMeIn
    138
     5 years ago

    Hyper savings.  Some people really live their days trying to save pennies every chance they get.  They are obsessive about it, and they get a kick out of doing it.

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    JMartensen
    173
     5 years ago

    Passengers dropping the pin in their favorable locations?  Nah!! 

    Of course it happens.  Riders are all out to get you.  Keep your guard up.