An Uber Scam

Tony Tao
Tony Tao
Nov 1 · 3 min read

My plane landed safely at the airport in San Jose, U.S.A. It was a long trip and I felt happy and relieved just to get off the plane. I called an Uber to get home from the airport.

My Uber driver arrived, and I entered the car. He looked at me to say a warm greeting. I looked at him, and he seemed like a normal person. There was a strange look in his eyes. His eyes looked dreamy and hazy.

We started talking and and the conversation drifted over to the topic of dating. I asked him if he was dating someone. He said he was dating someone that he deeply loved, and quickly took out his phone to show me a picture. I looked at the phone, and on the phone was an incredibly attractive woman. I asked him how they met, and he said they met in Morocco. Then, I asked him how was Morocco.

He replied: “I’ve never been to Morocco.”

I said: “What do you mean, you just said you two met in Morocco.”

He said: “She first contacted me through email. At the time she was in Morocco. That’s how we first met. She’s never been to the U.S, and I’ve been trying to get her to come. Actually I just sent her $1000 the other day for her plane ticket, and soon we can meet for real. Something came up though.”

I said: “What came up?”

He said: “Well her mother died and she needs to attend a funeral. She’s asking for another $1000 to help her for the funeral costs. She loves me so this is no big deal.”

I said: “Isn’t it strange that someone you never met in person in a far away country is asking you to send them money. Especially since you first met each other through email?”

He said: “Well she deeply loves me and this is just a setback that we have to overcome together.”

I said: “It sounds like a scam to me.”

At this moment, it was as if this news suddenly and physically changed him. I could see what I had said bothered him. He looked over at me and away from driving. He pointed the phone at me and explained why I was wrong, and he was so focused on convincing me that he was correct that he was not looking at the road. As a result, he started swerving across four different lanes. He and I were in danger of crashing into oncoming traffic because he wasn’t looking at the road.

In that moment, with my being at stake. I wanted to say something to reconcile this and return things to normal.

I said: “It can’t possibly be a scam, this person must love you!”

The effect was instant. He stopped looking at me and looked back onto the road. His focus returned back to driving. The rest of the ride was uneventful and I got off safely at my house. He drove off.

I sat down to reflect on what had happened. I had always believed that people got scammed through some series of events. A setup so tricky and intelligent that no normal person could escape. This wasn’t the case at all. When people are scammed, it is because they believe in something. Often what they believe in is not real. What causes the victims to send money isn’t some force of the scammer, but a belief that is held by the victim. The victim’s being is tied to this belief. They are stuck holding onto a view of the world in order to protect themselves. To believe in a scam is an act of self-preservation.

I received an email from him the other day, that he and the person broke up. He’s now doing much better, and he said he learned his lesson. I was happy to receive that email.

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