A Singapore-based organization, Ryde Technologies, has reported being severely affected by the phantom bookings on behalf of several fake accounts.
An intense scrutiny has discovered that none less than 300 fake accounts have booked 2,000 useless rides in the past weeks. These fake bookings have amounted to a loss of £37,900 or $50,000. This is a huge amount of money for the drivers who would have earned this money if the calls were legitimate.
The start-up cab service company is facing negative scenarios due to the fake bookings. However, after getting to the root of the concern, they have filed a complaint to the police, who are looking into the matter. Uber has also reported facing such scenarios in other countries.
Ryde Technologies reported that the manipulations have severely affected the morale of the drivers, as their livelihood is getting affected. Apart from the wastage of the fuel expenses, this has also restricted the drivers to take the genuine calls.
Due to these incidents, the drivers have started to lose their motivation which is negatively affecting the business of the Ryde Technologies. A spokesperson from the company added that the management has implemented certain audits in order to get rid of the fake accounts and has also opened the scopes for the drivers to report any kind of phantom booking.
According to Hanish Bhatia, an analyst, the prospect of a business gets tremendously affected due to the interruptions from the phantom bookings. It sabotages the capital of a company which is struggling to survive in a tough competition and runs on a tight budget.
He further suggested the company to acquire proper information on the clients in order to understand the relevance of the bookings received by the drivers.
Only smart and strategic steps will be able to assist the company to get over the challenges imposed by the fake bookings.