An American woman on vacation in Portugal alleges that an Uber driver kidnapped her in Lisbon early this morning and only released her in Almada, according to the PSP.
A representative from the Setúbal District Command of the PSP stated that the victim claims she intended to continue her journey to another hotel in Lisbon after dropping off two friends at a hotel in the city center. However, the driver allegedly forced her to travel to the south bank of the Tejo River.
According to the victim’s account to the PSP, the driver began to act strangely and drive aggressively once she was alone in the vehicle, forcibly transporting her to the south bank of the Tejo. She was eventually allowed to exit the vehicle on Rua Eduardo Viana in Almada, Setúbal district.
The PSP reports that the woman panicked when she realized she was being taken to an unknown location, but despite the driver’s unusual behavior, there were no attempts of assault or violation.
The incident is under investigation by the Setúbal Judicial Police.
In response to the news, Uber stated in a note sent to the agency Lusa that they have “not been contacted by the authorities regarding the reported case” and assert that they “have no records of any trip with the reported characteristics, nor have they received any contact about this issue through the app or customer support.”
“Uber has always promptly cooperated in any investigation and has a highly differentiated response in terms of incident resolution and relations with authorities,” the response to Lusa reads. The platform claims to have “a Public Safety Team, comprised of former law enforcement officers and experts who establish and maintain partnerships with local authorities and work closely with them,” available 24/7.
Uber also states that all drivers meet legal requirements, are duly licensed, hold the necessary residence permits if applicable, and have no criminal records.
“Driver identity verification is rigorous and ongoing, either through an extensive range of documentation or via pioneering facial recognition technology,” the company specifies.
To enhance this control, Uber explains that there is a data-sharing platform with the Institute for Mobility and Transport (IMT), which allows for more robust supervision of TVDE activity based on reliable and updated data.
Uber ensures that it provides users and drivers with “a wide range of tools and features to ensure their safety”: audio recording of trips, real-time trip status sharing with up to five contacts, and since 2019, the implementation of an emergency button for direct calls to 112, real-time GPS location, car make, model, and license plate, among others.
Uber indicates that incidents can be reported at any time through the app to obtain expert support and that during the trip, any incident can be immediately and easily reported via the Safety Center in the app.
In the event of a security incident, the involved accounts are immediately suspended as a preventive measure during the investigation.
The platform assures that user data, such as name and surname, phone number, or address, are always protected, remaining anonymous at all times.
