Police are looking for two suspects accused of posing as Uber drivers, then robbing a victim at gunpoint.
They say around 3 a.m. on a Sunday in late July, a man was taking out money from an ATM near the El Cortez downtown when he was approached by the two suspects who said they were Uber drivers and offered him a ride.
Surveillance pictures show the three people who then walked to their car and drove the suspect as far as Sahara Avenue and Decatur Boulevard when they allegedly pulled out a gun and robbed the suspect before letting him out of the car.
The incident isn't the first recent case of fake Uber drivers. Last month, a woman ordered an Uber near the Park MGM. When she got in the car, which looked similar to the make and model she ordered, she got a call from the real driver and realized she was in the wrong car. She says the fake driver stole her purse and made her feel unsafe, and so she injured herself jumping out of the car while it was moving.
Because of incidents like these, Uber is sharing some safety tips to make sure this doesn't happen to you:
- Make sure the car matches the one you ordered in the app.
- Check license plate number, make and model, and driver's name
- Ask driver "who are you here for?" because the driver should have your name too.
Some people tell us they even go a step further, and follow the GPS as the ride goes along, to make sure it's taking you to the right place.
Uber also says what happened in this case downtown should never have happened. Uber drivers will always be in their cars, and will never solicit rides from you outside the car. They will also never accept cash. Everything is done through the app on your phone.
