Rideshare Driver Saves Bucks County Dad From $25K Scam: Police

UPPER MAKEFIELD, PA - A “hero” Lyft driver with quick instincts saved an Upper Makefield dad from handing over $25,000 in cash to schemers on Wednesday, authorities said.

On Wednesday morning, the Bucks County father received a phone call from someone pretending to be his son saying he had been arrested in Philadelphia for a DUI after being involved in an accident, Upper Makefield Township police said in a statement. Another caller pretending to be the son’s lawyer called a short time later, saying the son needed $25,000 for bail. The father agreed to hand over the money to a Lyft driver, who would purportedly bring the cash to the son.

“Upon the arrival of the Lyft driver, our visibly upset father handed over the box and took pictures of the car and driver, telling the Lyft driver it was to be delivered to an attorney,” Upper Makefield police wrote. “All of this did not sit well with the Lyft driver and something felt amiss. But the Lyft driver left with the box and was later told by “Mr. Steinburg” to meet him in the Aldi parking lot in Kensington.”

However, the Lyft driver instead disabled the GPS on his phone and scoped out the scene in the parking lot beforehand, police said. At the parking lot, an individual (pictured here) who claimed to be “Mr. Steinburg” asked the driver to give him the box – but the Lyft driver demanded to see identification first.

“The Lyft driver also took a photo of the supposed lawyer and, after some words and posturing, drove away with the box,” police said.

The Lyft driver contacted police and, via internet search, was able to contact the father, who ultimately called Upper Makefield authorities. The father also presented the Lyft driver with a “very nice monetary award" for his quick instincts and honesty, police said.

“This story has a happy ending because of the Lyft driver who followed his instincts, did the right thing, and saved a father from losing a ton of money,” the department added. “But, so often these stories do not have such an ending and end up leaving our older population with a substantial monetary loss and overwhelming feelings of shame as they agonize over being the victim of a scam. So, please let this story serve as a warning that scam artists are heartless punks that will stop at nothing to separate you from your money so be educated, be aware, and call us should you suspect you are being scammed.”