Uber and DoorDash are telling the Internal Revenue Service that some people earned thousands of dollars on their platforms — though the people say they never worked for the apps at all.
One such individual is taking his claims to court. Damian Josefsberg alleged that Uber reported over $1,200 in earnings in his name to the IRS for 2021 tax year, in a complaint filed in a Florida court last month. Josefsberg, who lives in Florida and runs a laser alignment company, has never worked for the app, Kenneth Dante Murena, his attorney, told Business Insider.
The lawsuit is seeking class-action status, which would add plaintiffs with similar experiences to the complaint.
An Uber spokesperson confirmed that Josefsberg never worked for the app and directed Business Insider to a form on its website titled “1099 delivery error,” which asks people to submit erroneous tax forms, a picture of their government ID, a selfie with their ID, and a police report so Uber can investigate.
Josefsberg’s experience points to a problem Uber and other gig-work apps have faced for years: the people who drive passengers or deliver food aren’t always who they say they are, and some have bought accounts on illegal markets rather than getting proper access by signing up.
The apps have responded with new verification efforts, such as asking workers to regularly submit selfies or to show up in person to verify their identity.
Uber has issues with ID verification, safety, the lawsuit says
Apps like Uber have added millions of gig workers to their platforms over the last decade and a half, and Josefsberg’s lawsuit alleges Uber isn’t doing enough to verify those workers’ identities.
“Screening barriers such as ‘clean’ background checks, issue-free driving records, or the ability to work legally in the United States impede Uber’s abilities to rapidly increase its driver pool and thus its trip deliveries,” the lawsuit reads.
The Uber spokesperson said the company disagrees with the claims in Josefsberg’s lawsuit. The company “maintains robust safeguards designed to detect and prevent fraudulent activity, and we continually enhance these systems to address emerging tactics,” the spokesperson said.
Uber also said that it conducts background checks on drivers, including reviews of their driving and criminal records.
Drivers whose real identities and backgrounds are unknown pose a safety risk to passengers, Murena said.
Uber is facing multiple lawsuits that allege the company is liable for sexual misconduct, including rape, by its drivers.
“The public at large would like to know that Uber is confirming that the drivers are who they say they are,” Murena said.
Josefsberg’s lawsuit seeks damages from Uber and a correction to his tax record, because the company reported the income to the IRS under his name.
Murena said he’s received roughly two dozen calls from others who also received 1099s from Uber despite saying they’ve never worked for the app.
DoorDash reported $24,000 in income for one worker
Other ride-hailing and delivery apps have faced similar issues.
Christie Reynolds, who works for an after-school program in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, told Business Insider that she’s never worked for DoorDash.
Last month, though, she got a letter from the IRS saying that DoorDash had reported $24,000 in income under her name for 2023. The letter, which Business Insider reviewed, also said the previously unreported income would prevent her from claiming the Child Tax Credit.
Reynolds said that she contacted the IRS, which told her that DoorDash needed to handle the correction to her tax records. She’s unsure how to do that, she said, since she’s neither a DoorDash customer nor a gig worker.
After Business Insider shared details of Reynolds’ case, a DoorDash spokesperson said that the “root cause is identity theft unrelated to the DoorDash platform.”
“In rare instances that an individual believes their identity was fraudulently used to dash, we encourage them to contact DoorDash support immediately,” the spokesperson said, while offering to get in touch with Reynolds.
While Reynolds hasn’t been able to figure out how someone got a hold of her personal details to set up the DoorDash account, she said that her personal information was exposed in at least two data breaches over the last several years.
The next step she plans to take is to talk to a friend who is a lawyer for advice, she said.
“Right now, I’m just in a bad place,” Reynolds said. “I don’t know what to do.”
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