Uber has been facing serious competitions and scandals in recent time, and now, the latest to join the scandals is the fact that some of its drivers are now scamming riders. If you are a regular user of the taxi-hailing app, you would have noticed that sometimes the cost of your ride is ridiculously high, but you still go ahead and pay.

The secret of those ridiculous charges has been exposed: some Uber drivers are manipulating the Uber app and inflating distance, thereby increasing the fare. They do that using a fake GPS itinerary app called Lockito.


Lockito was designed for developers for testing geofencing-based app and simulating location. But like every great tool in hand of the bad guys, the app is now being used by some Uber drivers to deceive the Uber driver app.

Using Lockito, these drivers basically create fake GPS waypoints, which the driver can make as long as he wishes, and then route the Uber driver app through it. So instead of the Uber app to calculate the real distance (and time) covered in a trip, it calculates the simulated distance of the fake waypoints. And that's what the rider pays for.

The Lockito app has only been reported to be able to trick the Uber app on Android phones, and sadly, the app doesn't even require a root access to manipulate GPS location.

This issue has been reported to Uber, and it is expected that an update would fix this loophole soon. But why you wait for the loophole to be fixed, look out for the red flag in Uber ride that costs more than usual; the driver may be using Lockito (or other fake GPS itinerary app) to cheat you.

Source: https://www.techrabytes.com/uber-drivers-scam-lockito/