Hello,
I’m writing to report what appears to be a recurring Uber-related scam affecting tourists in the Cancun / Riviera Maya area.
We came in on a flight from Manchester, England on December 21, 2025, landing at around 14:55. Uber picked me and my wife up at Cancun International. We were going to a hotel in Playa del Carmen,
I booked an Uber normally via the app. The Uber was supposed to be 2,500 mxn pesos. (It was a BLACK UBER).
After pickup, the driver Carlos “R” cancelled the trip, claimed there was a technical issue, and insisted that payment be made outside the Uber platform.
As we were already in transit with luggage and on a motorway, refusing was not realistically possible. The charge processed via Apple Pay was significantly higher (4x) than the quoted Uber fare.
He showed me the screen saying 2,500. I used my Apple Pay but it is a visa and it failed. He said I can only use Mastercard. So my wife has a Mastercard and he rekeyed the amount to 10,000 mxn (without showing us ) turned the machine around and then presented the same machine to her.
It then pinged on the phone saying $575 or around 10,000 Mexican. We immediately got concierge to help us and translate. He said it would be refunded and I also now needed to pay cash, which I did.
I believed the concierge had a strong enough conversation to get the money refunded, but now we still have no refund and no messaged from Carlos. Chat (gpt) says this is a typical scam and the promise of a refund will take forever until we basically give up.
Carlos from uber should have maybe got 1,400 mxn from the trip after uber deduction but he has ended up getting 12,500 mxn.
Both Uber and my bank are now conducting formal investigations, and the Apple Pay transaction is fully traceable (timestamp, device, merchant and location data).
I now understand this method, cancelling after pickup and forcing off-app payment, is being used to bypass Uber safeguards and overcharge tourists. I believe this is a matter of public interest, particularly as it may affect visitors who are unfamiliar with local transport practices.
I’m not seeking publicity beyond helping warn others.
Kind regards,
Jonathan, Manchester
