Uber driver 'creeped out' after passenger shows up at his home

Friday, November 2, 2018
Uber driver 'creeped out' after passenger shows up at his home
The ride-sharing company Uber is investigating a complaint from a Rocky Mount driver who claims a passenger found his personal information through its app.

ROCKY MOUNT, North Carolina -- The ride-sharing company Uber is investigating a complaint from a driver who claims a passenger found his personal information through its app.

Lee Green, an Uber driver for two years, said a rider named Steven showed up at his front door the morning after a late-night ride looking for a lost debit card.

"It's a complete invasion of privacy and my personal space," Green told ABC11. "It feels like being violated. It's a major violation and it has me utterly creeped out."

According to Green, Steven explained he found Green's home by looking at the last known location of Green's vehicle on the Uber app. The ABC11 I-Team was able to confirm Steven's identity, but he would not return our calls. The I-Team also spoke to Steven's friends and coworkers, who said they heard the same explanation of how he got to Green's home.

Green said the passenger grabbed his debit card and left without incident.

"There's a million and one ways this could have gone south," Green said. "And he still now knows where I live."

Each Uber driver and passenger has a profile, and according to Uber's website, all sensitive information is protected. Phone calls between a driver and passenger are also routed through a third party as to never reveal the personal phone number of the individual.

When asked about the possibility of locating a Uber driver's prior routes and locations, a spokeswoman for the company said it's never heard of such a case and she maintains it's "highly unlikely" a rider can access such information on the app, and that "there's no way" to track a specific Uber vehicle unless the rider was currently on a paid trip.

On its website, Uber details extensive protections for both drivers and passengers.

One page, called Commitment to Safety, said "More than 200 Uber employees, from researchers and scientists to designers and engineers, are focused on building technology that puts safety at the heart of your experience."

Uber said it will reach out to both Green and the passenger. Green is also filing a police report.