Title: Melbourne Airport passenger locked in by Uber impersonator
Description: Melbourne Airport rider says a fake Uber locked her in and sought extra cash. Uber says he was not on the app.
A Melbourne Airport passenger says she feared for her life after a man posing as an Uber driver locked her in his car and tried to take extra cash, news.com.au and Nine report.
The woman, who gave her name only as Fatima, ordered an Uber from the airport on Friday night at about 8.30pm after a business trip. At Melbourne Airport, Uber uses a six-digit PIN so riders confirm they have the right car before the trip starts.
She said she handed over the PIN as usual. The driver then claimed it was wrong, by which time they were already on the freeway, and offered to take her home for the same amount as the Uber fare. She agreed under pressure, but said something felt off.
Extra cash and locked doors At her Southbank destination, Fatima said the driver tried to charge an extra A$20. She refused, telling him she had expected to pay through the app. After an argument, she said he locked the doors and would not let her out.
She called Triple Zero from inside the car. The driver eventually unlocked the doors and let her leave. Victoria Police said officers spoke to her in the early hours of Saturday after her call was diverted to Melbourne East via the Police Assistance Line. They said she reported that the driver had driven off with her luggage; after inquiries, the driver said he had taken it out of the vehicle, and hotel or building staff later had the property. Police said they did not receive a report that she had been locked in the car.
Not an Uber driver, airport says After checking with the platform, news.com.au reported the man was not registered as an Uber driver at all — a copycat in the pick-up stream, not a rogue partner on the app.
Uber said rider safety was paramount and urged passengers not to enter a vehicle without matching the app photo, plate and vehicle type — or the airport PIN. If details do not match, it said, report it to Uber’s airport team, airport security or in-app help. Off-app cash pick-ups breach Uber’s Community Guidelines and can mean permanent loss of access for genuine driver-partners.
Melbourne Airport chief executive Lorie Argus called the incident “horrific” on 3AW and said the airport had escalated the case to Uber. A Melbourne Airport spokesman said rogue and touting behaviour had been fought for years with Uber, the taxi industry and Safe Transport Victoria, and repeated the basic rule: match the PIN before you get in — if there is no PIN, do not get in.
news.com.au also pointed to a similar PIN-and-rebook scam at the same airport about a year ago involving DJ Darley; in that case Uber deactivated a driver account after her complaint.