Ridesharing, Food Delivery Drivers Among Victims of Violent Crimes

Drivers for ridesharing and food delivery companies have been among those who have been victimized during a nationwide surge in the number of carjackings and other violent crimes, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Saturday (Dec. 11). In Minneapolis, for example, 11% of the carjackings reported so far this year were reported by rideshare drivers.

In response, some drivers have stopped driving for the services, started working only during the day, chosen to pick up riders only at airports or begun wearing bulletproof vests, according to the report.

Some drivers want the ridesharing and food delivery companies to upload photos of riders, require riders to take selfies or collect background checks on riders, the report stated.

The companies have taken some security measures. For example, Uber and Lyft provide buttons that connect drivers to 911; both require riders to upload IDs if they use untraceable forms of payments; and DoorDash has an emergency hotline, according to the report.

Sharing economy platforms must take the proper precautions to ensure they can easily differentiate between legitimate customers and fraudsters, both to ensure users’ physical safety as well as that of their online information.

Read more: Digital Identity Verification Keeps Ridesharing Customers, Drivers Safe

PYMNTS’ The Future of Identity Report shared that Uber required U.S. customers who wish to use an anonymous payment method to upload identity documents such as their drivers’ licenses or passports; Deliveroo tested facial recognition features for its couriers, requiring them to upload selfies to be used for identity verification; and sharing economy companies could add an additional layer of verification that could allow them to meet consumers’ changing preferences as well by implementing technologies such as biometrics.