Uber had a ghost driver problem in China where 'haunted' profile photos were scaring passengers into cancelling rides so drivers could collect the fees

In China, some Uber drivers were pulling a fast one on their passengers by using ‘haunted’ profile pictures to scare them into cancelling rides, in what has been branded a ‘ghost driver scam’.

At first glance, it might sound like a silly prank that got a bit out of hand.

But this was actually a scam which left drivers pocketing the money of cancellation fees.

In the end, Uber had to get involved to shut it down.

These Uber drivers in China were scaring customers into cancelling rides

Anyone who has used Uber before will know that cancelling a ride is not ideal.

Not only does it inconvenience a driver who is already driving to your location, but it also hits your wallet, too.

Generally speaking, if you cancel on a driver more than two minutes after requesting a ride, you get charged a cancellation fee.

Nobody wants that.

But back in 2016, some Uber drivers started gaming the system to milk fees out of drivers.

And they did it in a way that is rather unorthodox – they modified their profile pictures to make themselves look like ‘ghost drivers’.

Most of us wouldn’t pay much mind to a driver’s profile picture when selecting a ride, but we reckon many people would have second thoughts if they saw somebody looking like they walked off Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

It spooked enough people to make news in various Chinese news outlets, and it prompted Uber to act.

In a statement given to Chinese media at the time, Uber asserted that it had a ‘zero-tolerance attitude to scamming behavior’.

Riders were refunded, and reported accounts were removed.

On top of being a cruel thing to do to somebody, the ghost rider scam is also pointless.

The cancellation fee will be small; even if done multiple times over, it wouldn’t add up to much.

According to Professor Mark Graham, a professor of Internet Geography at Oxford University, this pattern of behavior can be seen in different sectors of the gig economy.

“In ride-hailing, this can involve attempts to influence cancellations or trip allocations. In delivery work, it may take the form of selectively accepting orders or coordinating activity with other  workers,” Professor Graham told Supercar Blondie.

“On freelance platforms, workers sometimes manage multiple accounts or strategically present their availability. These practices vary in form, but they stem from the same structural conditions.

“In that sense, the ‘ghost photo’ tactic is not an isolated anomaly but an expression of a wider logic. 

“What might appear as opportunistic or deceptive behavior is often better understood as a form of economic adaptation.”

Would a ghost rider be enough to make you cancel?

One man shared his story of being spooked into cancellation.

Zhang Kun was waiting for an Uber in Zhengzhou when a ghost rider popped up on his phone.

“I was scared to death,” he told Sixth Tone.

This resulted in him losing a cancellation fee of 4.20 yuan (60 cents), so he didn’t bother reporting it.

It might seem like an odd notion that a modified picture would prompt somebody to cancel a ride.

However, supernatural phenomena are something that a large portion of the Chinese population does believe in – one study found that 60 percent of Chinese people believe in a supernatural element, which can range from ghosts to spirits.

At any rate, scams like this phenomenon may not be much of a worry in the future.

Uber is moving more and more towards robotaxis, so the idea of a ghost driver is almost ancient history.

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