by Gabe Zaldivar
Last updated: 7:00 PM ET, Thu September 22, 2016
Depending on what you read, there are either ghosts, zombies or vampires attempting to pick up passengers throughout China.
This isn't some odd Halloween marketing ploy from the makers of Count Chocula and Boo Berry cereals. Rather, it seems to be a scam to bilk travelers out of fees assessed after cancelling a trip.
Sixth Tone (h/t The Guardian) reports that some Uber users in China have received some startling images once they request a ride.
As many know, you get a very cursory introduction to your driver when you request a lift: Name and picture as well as make and model of the car are provided.
In this case, some in the country are getting a driver's image that makes it look like they are [fill in ghastly character of which you are most terrified].
Some call the drivers zombies while others go the more classic ghost. In any case, it's a far cry from the image you want to see when you expect to spend a few moments with them in a moving, enclosed space like an automobile.
Obviously, these riders cancel their trips, opting to try their luck again and get a driver from the land of the living.
Ah, but that's where we find the ruse.
But first, let's show you what we are talking about here, via Twitter.
The report states that the image usually garners a cancellation, which means a cancellation fee is assessed that goes to the driver. Sixth Tone puts the take at about a "few yuan."
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Sixth Tone continues: "Another scamming method used by the ghost drivers is accepting rides, saying the passenger has entered the vehicle, and cancelling the trip. The customer will have been taken for a ride worth a few yuan without noticing. Either way the ghost driver wins."
The publication received word from an Uber China public relation's official who stated the company is looking into the phenomenon and reiterated that complaints can be sent directly to Uber, which will in turn refund any fees assessed by untoward means.
Now this does not, we presume, cover any actual ghost drivers intent on bringing immense meaning back into your life:
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