[Update: 28 Jun, 8:18pm]
A Grab spokesperson has replied to our query, and stated that “Grab is investigating the matter.”
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Ride-hailing service Ryde has just released a statement, revealing that it has lodged a police report after receiving “a large number of feedback from drivers through email and social media platforms regarding fake rider accounts and “phantom” RydeX trip bookings”.
In a press release and Facebook post, Ryde revealed that the instances had increased over the following 6 weeks, with close to 300 fake accounts and 2000 “phantom bookings” created.
“This has caused disruptions to the drivers and the resulting loss of income borne by them reached over $50,000.”
The local firm shared that after its own investigations, it found “compelling digital evidence” that point to IP addresses 119.73.221.76, 128.199.213.100, and 49.213.16.0 as the source of creation of these fake accounts.
They also found that “a majority of […] these fake accounts and “phantom bookings” originated from locations in Midview City and The Herencia”.
A quick check on whatismyip.com revealed that the first IP address is currently registered to Grabtaxi Pte Ltd.
The other two IP addresses point to OneAsiaHost and somewhere in Australia:
Added Ryde:
This is a breach of Ryde’s Terms of Use, Item No. 7 (use of Services to cause nuisance, annoyance, inconvenience or make fake bookings). Ryde does not condone such acts of misrepresentation that can threaten the livelihood of drivers.
It has also notified the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) and Land Transport Authority (LTA) on the matter.
In addition, it had also been “conducting user audits to eliminate these fake accounts and also informed their drivers to look out and report the incidents”.
We’ve reached out to Grab for comment – watch this space for updates.
