As if concert workers weren’t having it hard enough, they now have to be on the lookout for possible fishing scams from malicious actors claiming to represent their company.
An in – depth report of the marking published this week describes the fishing scams that exit states have affected hundreds of Postmates drivers. Scams usually work like this: bad actors place an order to be able to talk to the driver, call the driver posing as Postmates employees, and then invite drivers to leave their logins and passwords.
Once the scammers sign in, they change the account payment information and empty it. Since fellow postmen usually deposit drivers ’earnings on Mondays, scams usually occur on weekends when drivers have more revenue waiting to be deposited.
Mailmates were acquired by Uber last December. The delivery service has more than 500,000 members of the fleet.
Meghan Casserly, head of delivery communications for Uber and Postmates, declined to tell the Markup how many Postmates drivers had been affected by fishing scams. Casserly told the media that Postmates sends out “periodic reminders” about fraudulent activities and works to safeguard drivers ’earnings.
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“While incidents like these aren’t exclusive to Uber or Postmates, we take all reports of fraudulent activity very seriously,” Casserly said.
He also said Postmates has one support page which includes some pretty generic warnings about fishing scams. Honestly, the page is titled, “How do I keep my account secure?” While the intention is probably good, it doesn’t really do a good job communicating that this is a danger that drivers now face and that they need to be aware of.
In addition, Casserly claimed that the Postmates have preventive measures in place, such as two-factor authentication and blocking of payments if there are indications of fraud. The marking noted that drivers who shared their experiences with online scams said they were unable to recover their stolen income. Casserly said at the outset that Postmates has a process that allows verified drivers as victims of a scam to request refunds.
However, he did not tell the outlet how many workers have been able to recover their income through this route.
Gizmodo contacted Postmates and Uber to ask if the companies planned to take any additional action to prevent messengers from being caught in these fishing scams in the future. We will make sure to update this blog if we receive news.
If you’re a Postmates driver, how can you avoid being fooled by despicable people? Here are some things you need to know according to Casserly and Postmates’ self-orientation:
- Mail mates will never tell you that there are suspicious changes to your password or bank account information via a phone call. It will always be done through their automated monitoring systems.
- Mail mates will never ask you for your account login information, including your username, password, or a text message sent to your phone.
- Do not provide login information even if the person you are talking to claims to be a Postmates employee.
- If you receive a call or text message to request your login information, do not provide the requested information or click on any of the text links. Contact your fellow mailmen immediately so they can investigate the incident.
While it is important for concert workers to be vigilant and prudent, it is also important for companies to take steps to protect their workers. This means going beyond explaining facts or linking to generic support pages.