VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – The Volusia County sheriff said his office is now investigating five cases in what they’re calling a bizarre scam. The sheriff said schemers are using Uber drivers to collect money from victims and bring it to them.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood said between the now five people in Volusia County who fell victim, they’ve lost about $100,000 to scam artists.
“As the job comes in, we jump all over it. We have some excellent fraud investigators,” he said.
He said investigators are at a stand-still, though. He said Uber has not responded to subpoenas his office sent for payment and user information.
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News 6 reached out to the company and received the following statement:
“Uber strictly prohibits the use of the Uber app to commit crimes of any kind. The safety of our drivers is our top priority and we are working with law enforcement to help put an end to these scams.”
“We’re at their mercy. We’re talking almost a month ago and they still have refused to cooperate,” he said.
One of the transactions between a driver and suspect with about $17,500 in the package was caught on security video. The driver is working with deputies now, too.
“He told our victim that this is a scam, don’t do this and the victim insisted,” Chitwood said.
The sheriff said it starts with a phone call telling the person someone they know is in jail and needs money to bail out. One of his deputies’ reports said a grandmother took out $30,000 and handed it over to a driver.
“Every day that goes by these guys get further and further away,” said Chitwood.
The sheriff’s office is offering a $25,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest. If you have information, you’re asked to call 386-254-1537.