A Bengaluru man has flagged an “inventive new scam” where taxi drivers use an exact replica of the Uber app to overcharge customers. Mahesh Suthar took to the social media platform X to reveal how he was nearly scammed by a driver at Bengaluru airport. He said that the driver used an app called Blumeter, which looks exactly like Uber, to add an extra ₹1,000 to his bill.
Bengaluru airport taxi scam
In his X post, Mahesh explained that he had booked a Bengaluru airport taxi. The taxi driver used an app that looked like Uber to ‘start’ the trip when he sat in the vehicle. However, on reaching the destination, the Bengaluru passenger realised he was being asked to pay ₹1,000 extra.
On being questioned, the taxi driver claimed that extra money was because of GST and refused to provide a proper bill, saying it would come next month.
Sharing a picture of the taxi driver who tried to scam him, Mahesh wrote: “This dude showed me an exact replica of Uber app when he started and ended the trip with 1000 bucks extra baked in. Said the extra is because of GST and when I asked for the bill he said I’ll get it next month. So cute.”
Mahesh also explained how the scam works, writing: “They use an Android app called Blumeter which looks like Uber. They’ll show and click ‘trip start’ button to build credibility. And then later, they’ll end the trip on the same app which shows a much higher amount.
{{/usCountry}}Mahesh also explained how the scam works, writing: “They use an Android app called Blumeter which looks like Uber. They’ll show and click ‘trip start’ button to build credibility. And then later, they’ll end the trip on the same app which shows a much higher amount.
{{/usCountry}}“If you ask for a proper bill - they’ll say billing system is broken currently. You’ll get the bill on email next month,” Mahesh wrote on X.
He also shared a screenshot of the Blumeter app on the Google Play Store, through which drivers can add their own surge pricing to raise fare.
Several people in the comments section claimed they had fallen prey to similar scams, but others asked why an airport taxi was using an app in the first place instead of a meter.
“In the actual Bangalore airport taxis, they have an actual meter running. Not an app,” wrote one X user.
“Literally this exact thing happened with me just today. Guy didn’t even want the Uber OTP initially and when I asked him to enter it I could clearly see he did nothing with it,” another said, adding that his trip ended with “higher price shown through a screenshot.”
“It’s happening in every city,” a user said, even as others claimed they had fallen victim to similar scams in Delhi and Mumbai.