In 2016, something unusual happened with Uber drivers in several cities across China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao, and Chengdu. Some drivers found strange ways to make money without actually giving rides.
One trick involved using scary profile photos. Drivers uploaded disturbing, zombie-like images as their display pictures. When passengers saw these frightening faces, many felt uncomfortable or afraid and quickly cancelled their rides. Each cancellation came with a small fee, which the drivers collected without doing any work.
Another method was more direct. Some drivers would falsely mark passengers as “picked up” even when they had not met them. Then, they would end the trip almost immediately. This allowed them to receive payment for a ride that never really happened.
The story was first reported by Sixth Tone and later confirmed by well-known publications like Fortune, Time, and The Guardian.
Uber responded by saying it had a “zero-tolerance” policy for such behavior. The company banned the drivers involved and refunded the affected passengers.
Later that same year, in August 2016, Uber decided to merge its China operations with Didi Chuxing, bringing an end to its independent business in the country.
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