Bengaluru cabbie pretends to have a tech glitch to scam passenger. How the lady's smart move saved her

A resident of Bengaluru had a tense encounter with a ride-hailing driver last week but successfully outsmarted a potential scam without escalating the situation. She shared her experience on Reddit after booking a Rapido cab from Central College to Hoodi. The app displayed a fare of Rs 385, but the driver’s low rating of 2.6 caught her attention. Despite this, she decided to proceed with the ride due to the rain and the cab’s proximity.

The trip went smoothly until the drop-off, when the driver claimed the fare was Rs 600 and showed a screenshot as "proof," which the commuter quickly recognized as being from a previous journey. Meanwhile, her app indicated that the trip was still ongoing, with no deviations or additional stops that could justify the higher fare.

To complicate matters further, the driver logged out of his account and into another, showing an empty ride history while insisting on the inflated fare. Realizing the scam, the commuter chose not to confront the driver directly. Instead, she calmed the situation by pretending to sympathize with his “server issue” explanation.


“I played along, telling him I’d pay whatever fare was shown in my app, even if it was Rs 1,000. I logged in and out of the app, connected to my home WiFi, and even pretended to call Rapido SOS,” she explained in her Reddit post.

“Eventually, I told him I’d pay Rs 385 now and send the rest via GPay once the app updated. That reverse-UNO of sympathy worked!” After 20 minutes of back-and-forth, the driver reluctantly accepted the original Rs 385 fare and left. Shortly after, the app updated, confirming that the fare was indeed Rs 385.

How did Reddit users respond?

Reddit users commended the Bengaluru resident for her calm and patient handling of the fraudulent fare incident. Many admired her composure in the face of the scam.

One user commented, “It’s unfortunate that scams like this happen, but you did a smart job staying calm and not allowing the driver to pressure you into paying more.”

Others acknowledged that low-rated drivers can be a risk but praised how she avoided confrontation and de-escalated the situation. Several users encouraged her to file a complaint against the driver, suggesting that it could help prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.