Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Fake Uber driver outed

Uber fake. - Image by Rob Noel
Uber fake.

A fake Uber driver has been outted in Carlsbad, thanks to the same social media that makes the driving service so popular.

Rob Noel was recently visiting his Oceanside family for nine days. The 27-year-old Army veteran is a part-time Uber driver in Augusta, Georgia. On the evening of July 19, he took his sister to a Sub-Zero ice cream shop on Carlsbad Boulevard.

Noel noticed the car sitting in the parking lot with “Uber” posted all over it, including the license plates. “I thought it was an overzealous Uber driver,” he said. Noel’s sister, Cecelia, told him the driver and his car come through the drive-thru restaurant where she works all the time.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Suspicious, Noel called the phone number listed on the back of the vehicle and the driver’s cell phone rang. He then went over and talked to the driver, later identified by 10News as Prince Reza Shah. Shah claimed to Noel that he worked for the real Uber.

Noel took pictures of the car and its unusual advertising, thinking perhaps it was some new Uber marketing idea for the San Diego area.

Thinking it over, he knew the only way to order an Uber ride was through the company’s smart phone app, not from a website or phone number. Later, he found the website posted on the car was fake. So, the next morning, Noel posted his photos on a private Facebook page for Uber drivers. The post read, “Saw this in Oceanside last night. What’s up San Diego?”

On July 21, 10News investigative reporter Emily Valdez was alerted to Noel’s questioning post from a viewer who said he saw it on Twitter. For her story, Valdez actually ordered an Uber ride from the phony company, requesting a pick up in Carlsbad. According to the report, the person on the other end of the phone, identified as Shah, confirmed, yes, he was from the real Uber.

After arriving for the pick up, the female driver, not Shah, said a friend had told her to pick up the passenger. The driver agreed to a $40 fare to San Diego, not using the Uber app.

After confronting the driver, 10News’ Valdez reached Shah by phone, and he hung up on her.

It wasn’t until Noel was back home in Georgia on July 23, when he became aware of what his post had started. 10News’ investigation found Shah had been in trouble before. He had been successfully sued in federal court by the City of Carlsbad for illegally using the city’s golf course logo, and trying to profit from it. 10News also reported he has used 30 other aliases.

Of the incident, Noel, an eight-year Army vets says, “People need to remain vigilant and situational aware, as there are bad guys everywhere.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Big swordfish, big marlin, and big money

Trout opener at Santee Lakes
Next Article

Wild Wild Wets, Todo Mundo, Creepy Creeps, Laura Cantrell, Graham Nancarrow

Rock, Latin reggae, and country music in Little Italy, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Harbor Island
Uber fake. - Image by Rob Noel
Uber fake.

A fake Uber driver has been outted in Carlsbad, thanks to the same social media that makes the driving service so popular.

Rob Noel was recently visiting his Oceanside family for nine days. The 27-year-old Army veteran is a part-time Uber driver in Augusta, Georgia. On the evening of July 19, he took his sister to a Sub-Zero ice cream shop on Carlsbad Boulevard.

Noel noticed the car sitting in the parking lot with “Uber” posted all over it, including the license plates. “I thought it was an overzealous Uber driver,” he said. Noel’s sister, Cecelia, told him the driver and his car come through the drive-thru restaurant where she works all the time.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Suspicious, Noel called the phone number listed on the back of the vehicle and the driver’s cell phone rang. He then went over and talked to the driver, later identified by 10News as Prince Reza Shah. Shah claimed to Noel that he worked for the real Uber.

Noel took pictures of the car and its unusual advertising, thinking perhaps it was some new Uber marketing idea for the San Diego area.

Thinking it over, he knew the only way to order an Uber ride was through the company’s smart phone app, not from a website or phone number. Later, he found the website posted on the car was fake. So, the next morning, Noel posted his photos on a private Facebook page for Uber drivers. The post read, “Saw this in Oceanside last night. What’s up San Diego?”

On July 21, 10News investigative reporter Emily Valdez was alerted to Noel’s questioning post from a viewer who said he saw it on Twitter. For her story, Valdez actually ordered an Uber ride from the phony company, requesting a pick up in Carlsbad. According to the report, the person on the other end of the phone, identified as Shah, confirmed, yes, he was from the real Uber.

After arriving for the pick up, the female driver, not Shah, said a friend had told her to pick up the passenger. The driver agreed to a $40 fare to San Diego, not using the Uber app.

After confronting the driver, 10News’ Valdez reached Shah by phone, and he hung up on her.

It wasn’t until Noel was back home in Georgia on July 23, when he became aware of what his post had started. 10News’ investigation found Shah had been in trouble before. He had been successfully sued in federal court by the City of Carlsbad for illegally using the city’s golf course logo, and trying to profit from it. 10News also reported he has used 30 other aliases.

Of the incident, Noel, an eight-year Army vets says, “People need to remain vigilant and situational aware, as there are bad guys everywhere.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The danger of San Diego's hoarders

The $1 million Flash Comics #1
Next Article

Jazz guitarist Alex Ciavarelli pays tribute to pianist Oscar Peterson

“I had to extract the elements that spoke to me and realize them on my instrument”
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader