A San Fernando Valley man is dealing with a nightmare after someone stole his identity and used it to earn thousands of dollars as an Uber driver.
Anna Kojoyan said they were alerted to the fraud after receiving a welcome packet from Uber in the mail that was addressed to her husband, Vahik Tatoosi.
The packet included instructions on how to get set up as a new driver, however, no one in their household had applied for the job.
“I mean, it was shocking,” she told KTLA’s Jillian Smukler. “I was like, ‘What’s going on? Is there something I need to know?’”
Soon after, she said things escalated. They received IRS tax forms showing the identity thief had earned thousands of dollars driving for Uber while using her husband’s name and Social Security number.
“The person who opened the account in September operated the car all these months and generated income in my husband’s name,” Kojoyan said.
Vahik Tatoosi and Anna Kojoyan speak with KTLA’s Jillian Smukler on Feb. 12, 2026. (KTLA)
Uber driver picks up a rider at the Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans. (NEXSTAR)
An Uber driver picks up passengers at the airport on April 10, 2019. (Scott Olson / Getty Images)
FILE – An Uber sign is displayed at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco, Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. The future of Uber and Lyft in Minneapolis has been a source of concern and debate in recent weeks after the City Council voted last month to require that ride-hailing companies pay drivers a higher rate while they are within city limits. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
To make things worse, the couple said they’ve been struggling to receive clear answers from Uber or help with the matter.
“I thought they would take it seriously and act upon it, but I was wrong,” Kojoyan said. “They told me that because they want to protect the privacy of the driver, they cannot give me any information on that account.”
Left to clean up the damage, the process of reporting the fraud and clearing her husband’s name and tax history has been a headache.
“The process is a nightmare,” she said. “You have to file a police report, contact the IRS, contact the California state tax board.”
The incident has also left the couple questioning the vetting process for rideshare drivers and the safety concerns it poses to innocent customers.
“I don’t believe the claims anymore that they vet, they background check or criminal record check their drivers, because at this point, you don’t know who is picking you up,” Kojoyan said.
The couple has decided to stop using Uber’s services and forbade their children from using the platform, as they aren’t sure who the drivers may actually be.
Eva Velasquez, CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center, said the couple’s case is a prime example of employment identity theft and it’s becoming more common in the gig economy.
Uber driver picks up a rider at the Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans. (NEXSTAR)
“Because it’s tax time, people will be getting these 1099s for income that they didn’t earn and they didn’t work and it’s usually a surprise to them, so this is not unfortunately uncommon and we are hearing a lot more of this,” Velasquez explained.
Fraud experts said remote and app-based jobs can also make impersonation and identity fraud easier.
“Identity theft and misuse are huge problem and most adults are going to be affected by this in their lives multiple times,” she said.
KTLA reached out to Uber for comment and a spokesperson said they’ve “escalated the case to a specialized support team to investigate further, and have prepared the necessary tax documents to address the [victim’s] concerns.
For Tatoosi, he said the ordeal has left him shaken and his sense of trust is forever lost.
“I have to be cautious now for the rest of my life,” he said.
Experts advised that anyone who receives unexpected tax forms should contact the IRS immediately and consider taking steps to protect themselves such as freezing their credit, creating an identity protection PIN, enabling two-factor authentication and changing/updating online passwords.
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