Uber accused of booking 5,560 fake Lyft rides

Is Uber a nefarious power looking to stamp out the competition or simply the victim of libel? According to CNN Money, ridesharing service Lyft claims that 177 Uber employees have ordered and cancelled about 5,560 rides since October last year, thereafter cutting into profits and driver availability. One perpetrator allegedly went as far as to create 14 different accounts in order to perform 680 cancellations. Lyft drivers have also separately complained about being canvassed to join Uber.

Lyft was cited as saying that it has cross-referenced the phone numbers used in the phantom requests and has found links to Uber recruiters. Uber had issued an apology earlier this year, after documents showing its involvement in a similar scam were reportedly circulated to Valleywag and TechCrunch. Unlike before, however, the company has not acknowledged the new charges. CNN Money writes that the most that Uber has done so far is release a statement suggesting those responsible for the recruitment attempts may have just been independent parties seeking to make a quick buck.