A Boca Raton father is speaking out after his teenage daughters were wrongly accused of damaging a Lyft driver’s car. The driver allegedly used artificial intelligence to create fake evidence and tried to charge the family $75.
Bert Gor said the incident happened Saturday afternoon. He had just returned home after taking his son to the emergency room when he received a fraud alert from his bank about a $75 damage fee from Lyft. Gor immediately declined the charge.
Wondering what had happened, Gor asked his 14- and 15-year-old daughters if they had taken a Lyft ride earlier that day. The girls confirmed they had ridden home from the beach. They told their father they did not leave any mess in the car. They had only carried their beach towels and belongings — no food or drinks.
When Gor contacted Lyft customer service through chat, a representative told him the driver had sent pictures showing the alleged damage. Gor asked for copies of the photos. That’s when one of his daughters noticed something unusual.
“She goes, ‘Dad, that’s AI. You could see the Gemini logo on the bottom right-hand side of one of the photos,’” Gor recalled. “And I’m like, ‘Oh my God, you’re right.’”
Gemini is Google’s artificial intelligence tool that can generate realistic images. Gor immediately told the Lyft representative that the photos appeared to be AI-generated. According to Gor, the representative agreed, apologized, and blocked the driver from the Lyft app.
Gor expressed frustration that a driver would attempt this kind of scam against customers. “Blocking the driver… I don’t know how you can have a driver that’s doing this to your customers even driving for you,” he said.
After the incident, Gor posted about it on a local Boca Raton community Facebook page. He received responses from several other people who said they had experienced similar issues with fake damage claims.
Gor now hopes sharing his story will help others avoid falling for the same scam. “If you’re not paying attention to this and you’re getting charged $75, it can really add up,” he warned. “You’ve really got to pay attention.”
Lyft told local news stations that it takes damage disputes seriously. In a statement, the company said it reviewed the family’s concerns, offered reimbursement, unpaired the rider and driver, and addressed the matter directly with the driver involved.
The case highlights growing concerns about how easy it has become to create fake images with AI tools and use them in disputes over rideshare services. Families are being advised to carefully check any damage claims and look closely at any photos provided.
