It’s tax filing season, but there appears to be a huge, deep web of lies haunting apps like DoorDash and Uber.
The two apps are telling the Internal Revenue Service that there are people earning thousands of dollars on the platforms, and these people never really worked for the apps at all. Gasps! That’s scary.
A person whose identity is being dragged into this case, Damian Josefsberg, is taking his claims to the court.
Josefsberg is alleging that Uber reported over $1,200 in earnings under this name to the IRS for the 2021 tax year, according to a complaint filed in a court in Florida last month.
The funny thing is that Josefsberg never really worked for any of those apps, but instead runs a laser alignment company. The lawsuit is seeking class-action status.
What’s even funnier is that Uber has confirmed that Josefsberg never worked for the app.
This problem is part of the huge illegal system wherein people who deliver food or drive passengers may not be their real identities, and some managed to buy accounts on illegal markets instead of getting the right access through signing up or registering.
DoorDash and Uber have responded to ask workers to submit their selfies for verification, and show up in-person to verify their identities.
On the part of DoorDash, there’s Christie Reynolds, whose identity is used, as she never really worked for DoorDash. Instead, she works for an after-school program in New Mexico.
Last month, the IRS sent her a letter, indicating she has $24,000 income to report under her name for 2023. If she doesn’t file them, she would be barred from claiming the Child Tax Credit. Oh, my.
Reynolds stated she reached out to the IRS, and things got even more complicated. She received word that DoorDash must make corrections to her tax records, but how could she, if she doesn’t even work for DoorDash? Gasps again.
DoorDash is admitting that the root cause of this “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,” DoorDash told Ridesharing Forum.
While Reynolds isn’t sure how these unscrupulous parties obtained her personal details, what she knows is that her personal information got exposed in various data breaches over the last several years.
She is planning to seek legal help.
“Right now, I’m just in a bad place,” Reynolds stated. “I don’t know what to do.”
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