In a now-viral series of videos, a Boston, Massachusetts, woman accused an Uber driver of breaking into her apartment in the middle of the night.
The woman, Gigi, said the driver walked around the apartment for an indeterminate amount of time before finally leaving empty-handed. Gigi told viewers she contacted Uber and the police but accused Uber of “doing nothing.” But an Uber spokesperson told Newsweek that the company banned the driver from the app and is “standing ready to help law enforcement in their investigation.”
In a TikTok video posted on October 8, Gigi said the Uber driver broke into her apartment around 1:40 a.m., but she didn’t know this had happened until she reviewed her Ring doorbell footage later that day.
“When you see your Uber driver from earlier in the night inside your apartment at 1:40 a.m. the next morning on your Ring camera,” the video’s text overlay read.
Gigi then posted the doorbell footage to TikTok on October 20, writing: “[I’M] POSTING THIS FOR AWARENESS! Stay safe out there.”
In that brief 10-second clip, a man walks into what appears to be a living area and briefly surveys the room before walking off-camera.
“When your Uber driver breaks into your apartment when [you’re] sleeping,” the video’s text overlay read.
Finally, in a third clip posted to the video-sharing platform on October 22, Gigi told viewers “the full story” of the alleged break-in. She said the driver picked her and her boyfriend up earlier in the night and ultimately dropped them off at her apartment around 12:40 a.m.
“We [walked in], locked our door, made food and went to sleep,” she said.
The following morning, Gigi checked her Ring camera and found the footage of their driver walking around the apartment. She said the camera didn’t capture the break-in itself; however, she later determined the driver got in by cutting a hole through the screen of an open window.
Gigi told viewers that she contacted the police and an investigation is ongoing. She also contacted Uber but claimed she never heard back from the company.
In a statement to Newsweek, however, an Uber spokesperson said: “This driver’s actions are unacceptable, and we’ve been in touch with the rider regarding her terrifying experience. The driver has been banned from the Uber app, and we are standing ready to help law enforcement in their investigation.”
Viewers called Gigi’s experience “horrifying” and sent well wishes her way. Others used the videos as an opportunity to share some ride-sharing safety tips.
“This is HORRIFYING. So glad you’re safe!” Felicia exclaimed.
“Omg, how scary!!! I’m so glad you’re safe!” MizScorpio22 said.
Alexis wrote: “Girlies always put a different but close address in if you’re in a house!”
Alexalberta echoed Alexis’s sentiment, writing: “This is why I always make my drop-off location farther down the street from my house. It’s a scary world.”
Paranormal Girl added: “Always use a fake name, girls!”
WATCH VIDEO BELOW:
@gigirao #stitch with @gigirao ♬ Somebody's Watching Me – Single Version – Rockwell
Uber’s Safety Features
Uber updated its app in 2017 to allow riders to use cross-streets as pick-up and drop-off locations, so they don’t have to share their personal address information. Uber also anonymizes riders’ and drivers’ phone numbers so both parties “can contact each other without sharing their real digits.”
If a rider or driver needs to report an incident, they can do so by contacting Uber’s safety incident reporting line. A response team is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.