Men posing as Uber drivers tried to lure woman into their car
Facebook post says two men approached woman at Yonge and Bloor early on Valentine's Day
Toronto police are investigating after a woman says she was approached by two men in a car who said they were Uber drivers and attempted to lure her into their car.
In a short Facebook post, Rebecca Rocklynn says that in the early morning hours of Valentine's Day, two men drove up to her near the intersection of Yonge and Bloor Streets "and said 'you call an Uber?'"
They asked her twice, before she accused them of lying. She hadn't ordered an Uber.
"Then they said 'get in the car,'" she wrote on Facebook.
She did not, and instead called police.
Toronto police confirmed to CBC News Thursday that they received a complaint from a woman who said she was approached by drivers claiming to be from Uber.
CBC News has learned that the car was a rental.
Officers from 51 Division are investigating, but there have been no similar complaints, according to Const. Victor Kwong.
"We always suggest that whenever you're getting into a stranger's car, including cabs and limos, there should always be some sort of identifier," Kwong said Thursday.
When a customer orders an Uber car via the ride-hailing service's smartphone app, the name of the driver and a picture will appear once a nearby car has been located.
The driver's estimated time of arrival is also given, and the customer can follow the cab's progress on a map.
"I never take Uber alone, and if I did I would use the app," one woman told CBC near the downtown intersection.
"I don't understand why people would just get in a car without using the app if that's the formalized process."
Like the police, Uber says it is aware of the complaint and said Thursday it is the only one of this nature it has heard about.