Duo sought for stealing phones of Lyft, Uber drivers in NYC rideshare ruse

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — The NYPD is searching for a robbery team that, in a two-week spree earlier this year, stole cell phones from seven Lyft and Uber drivers they ordered rides from in Brooklyn and Staten Island.

In each of the thefts the duo would call a Lyft or Uber, and once they were picked up, would either gain access to the driver’s phone by stating that they needed to change the destination address, or outright snatching the device from the driver’s hand or dash cam.

Once the pair had the phone, they would flee the rideshare on foot, excluding the first incident when they hopped into an unknown vehicle to escape the scene.

All of the victims were men between the ages of 37 and 68, police said.
The first two robberies happened back-to-back on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27 in southwest Brooklyn.

Police said that these incidents were the only time that the suspects used violence in their crimes. The suspects slapped a 38-year-old Lyft driver and took his phone during an argument over the ride destination in the first robbery, and pressed a sharp object into the back of a 55-year-old Uber driver before demanding his phone in the second.

The following five incidents occurred across Staten Island between Feb. 29 and March 13.

In three of the robberies the drivers handed over their phones when the suspects asked to change the address, and in the other two the suspects grabbed the phone from the vehicle dash or the driver’s hand.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.