this post was submitted on 15 Apr 2025
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Facebook is hosting dozens of black market groups where people can buy or rent Uber driver accounts, giving them a way to drive for these services under a false identity and putting passengers and customers at risk, a new Tech Transparency Project (TTP) investigation has found.

TTP identified 80 Facebook groups with a combined membership of more than 800,000 users that trade in driver accounts for Uber, DoorDash, and other rideshare and delivery apps. Many of the groups made no secret of their activity, with obvious names like “Uber Delivery Drivers Account For Rent."

This black market allows people to acquire driver accounts for Uber and other services without going through the required screening process or even having a valid driver’s license. The activity endangers passenger and customer safety and may violate U.S. law. A recent case involving a similar alleged scheme resulted in wire fraud and identity theft charges against more than a dozen people.

Facebook is allowing this market to thrive on its platform even though its parent company Meta has policies against fraud and the sale of “fake or forged documents.” Meta also bars Facebook groups from promoting “illegal activities, products, or services.” Uber, for its part, prohibits fraudulent activities including “creating fake, duplicate, or otherwise improper accounts” and “falsifying documentation.”

Facebook has faced years of criticism for failing to effectively enforce its content policies. When Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a Trump-friendly pivot away from fact checking and policing hate speech in January, the company made clear that its automated systems would continue to tackle clearly illegal activity such as fraud. But as TTP’s investigation shows, Meta is failing to meet its new, lowered bar for policy enforcement by hosting a thriving trade in fraudulent Uber driver accounts.

Facebook did not respond to a request for comment.

Asked about TTP's findings, Uber said it does not allow account sharing and has "robust safeguards" to verify that "the person using an account is the rightful owner." According to the company, social media platforms can help discourage this kind of illicit activity.

"Protecting the integrity of our platform is a top priority," Uber said in a statement. "When we determine that an account holder is engaging in account sharing, or other forms of fraud, we ban their account from the platform."

TTP conducted the bulk of its investigation from January to February 2025. As of April 1, nine of the 80 Facebook groups had been removed and one changed its focus, but the other 70 remained active and some had increased their membership.

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[–] j4yt33@feddit.org 3 points 3 days ago (2 children)

If you've ever tried selling used branded items on marketplace you might have received random bans from whatever AI system they're using. So legitimate sales are being removed but things that violate their own terms are not. Great

[–] SouthEndSunset@lemm.ee 2 points 3 days ago

Have you ever tried reporting offensive or innappropriate content? In my experience everything gets rejected on that front too.

[–] flynnguy@programming.dev 1 points 2 days ago

There's a whole darknet diaries episode 153: Bike Index where he basically talks about stolen bikes being sold on Facebook and Facebook doesn't seem to care. They can't get the facebook pages shut down and this guy continues to sell stolen bikes on Facebook.

[–] aramis87@fedia.io 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Guess that explains the videos of doordash drivers stealing deliveries and stuff ...

[–] Petter1@lemm.ee 0 points 3 days ago

No, they doing it because American capitalism is asocial