Woman Jumps from Moving Car To Escape Fake Uber Driver After Alleged Abduction
It’s a terrifying thing when someone isn’t who they claim to be. In our current culture, it’s become all too easy to be fooled by a person who appears to be legitimate.
Criminals pose as police officers, pizza delivery people, and UPS drivers. We have to be extremely careful when it comes to placing our trust with just anyone.
When it comes to rideshare apps like Lyft and Uber, users are urged to practice caution and follow certain steps before getting inside a stranger’s vehicle, especially when riding alone.
Las Vegas resident Elizabeth Suarez is speaking out about her fake Uber driver experience in hopes that others won’t make the same mistakes she did.
The incident occurred in July, Suarez told Las Vegas station KTNV. She was out with a childhood friend when she used the Uber app on her phone to order a ride home.
She was at Park MGM on the Las Vegas Strip when she received an alert that her ride was close. With so many cars arriving to pick people up, it could be understandably difficult to pinpoint which one was hers.
But when a man stepped out of a vehicle that seemed to match the description of the one in the app, Suarez approached it.
“Are you here for Liz?” she asked the driver. Suarez said the man waved her over and she entered the vehicle thinking all was well.
What happened next turned into a nightmare. When Suarez received a call from her real Uber driver asking where she was, she knew she was in trouble.
“My heart sank,” she told KTNV. “Because I knew I was in the wrong car. I have no idea who this guy is, I’m in trouble.”
Suarez explained what happened next in her interview with the news outlet, sharing how she took some video and posted it to Snapchat with a caption, hoping someone might take notice.
She said she told the driver to pull over and let her out anywhere. He reportedly refused. When she snapped a profile picture of the man with her phone, he demanded her phone and wallet.
Suarez surrendered her wallet and the man sped up. That’s when she risked her life, opened the car door, and rolled out onto the street. She suffered several injuries in the ordeal.
Las Vegas Metro Police are investigating, but after reporting the incident as a simple robbery they are declining to comment. Suarez’ attorney is helping her with the ongoing case.
Her decision to escape might have saved her life, but this terrifying story isn’t the first regarding rideshare fraud. SF Gate reported that a man dubbed as the “Rideshare Rapist” in San Francisco was arrested following attacks on four different women. He’d been posing as a Lyft driver.
Stories like these serve as sobering warnings for anyone using a rideshare app as a means of obtaining transportation.
According to the safety page on Uber’s website, there are several things customers can do to ensure ridesharing safety.
The app features an emergency button, and Uber promises that all drivers must pass a screening before being approved to drive.
Users should never give the driver their name initially. Instead, ask them who they’re picking up and also what their name is. The license plate number should also match up with the one in the app.
Never get into a vehicle before completing these steps.
And if you do end up with a fake driver? Call 911 no matter how scared you are.
Even if you say nothing, the operators can track you, which might just save your life.
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