Waking up to a negative bank balance

Thanks to the sharing economy, hitching a ride with a stranger is no longer such a dangerous thing.

What's more risky these days is providing your credit/ debit card information to an app, as one Singaporean woman found out.

S$1,300 gone

When Jenna Lim woke up Nov. 19, her bank account was in the negative, after more than S$1,300 went missing.

Upon checking her transactions, she realised that they were carried out through the Uber app, with payments being made in US dollars.

This led Lim to believe that someone in the US had somehow accessed her Uber account on her behalf, and used it for rides she never took.

According to Lim's Facebook post, a total of more than 30 transactions were made in the span of just five days, starting from Nov. 15.

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The screenshots that she posted showed 20 transactions costing about S$840.

She is currently unable to remove the credit card option from the app.

Uber responds

In response to Mothership.sg queries, an Uber spokesperson said they are reviewing the incident and will address it accordingly.

According to the transportation technology company, payment information is encrypted when a user enters it into the app.

There may also be other reasons for security lapses, such as whether the user has been maintaining good habits in safeguarding personal information security, whether the device has been compromised, or even issues with the financial institution and its products.

Users who find their security compromised are advised to contact the bank immediately, and Uber will work with the respective institutions to refund the charges.

You can also reach their support team through the help section in the Uber app or at help.uber.com, where they can assist in resetting your password and refunding unauthorised trips.

The statement from the Uber spokesperson in full:

Our team is reviewing the incident and will address it accordingly. We would like to assure the public that payment information is encrypted when you enter it into the Uber app. However, there are myriad reasons why such incidents occur - including whether the user is maintaining good habits in safeguarding personal information security, whether the device has been compromised, or even issues with the financial institution and its products. If you believe your payment information has been stolen from another service and used on Uber, please contact your bank immediately. We will work with them to refund the charges. If you believe your Uber account has been compromised, you can reach our support team through the help section in the Uber app or at help.uber.com. We will help reset your password and refund unauthorised trips.