Bolt has blocked an undisclosed number of accounts requesting fake rides and cancelling them.
The ride-hailing app has also restricted inter-country ride requests following an escalation of such requests in Nigeria and South Africa. “Additionally, those responsible for this malicious activity have been identified and held accountable by blocking them from the Bolt app,” it said.
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On Thursday, several accounts on X posted screenshots of fake ride requests in Nigeria and South Africa. These riders requested rides in either country and then cancelled after the driver made the pickup trip.
The trend started after a tweet alleged that South Africans were ordering fake Bolt rides in Nigeria.
“South African bolt drivers go too suffer this morning, we go lower till we find oil,” tweeted @FaruqBashar at around 8 am on Thursday.
“Bolt is aware of the fake ride request incident between some individuals in Nigeria and South Africa,” said Yahaya Mohammed, Country Manager of Nigeria at Bolt.
“We understand the impact this situation has had on our driver-partners in Nigeria and South Africa. We are committed to ensuring a safe, reliable, and secure experience for all members of our community,” he added.
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However, the bans war has extended beyond ordering fake bolt trips as some Nigerians have begun to fake orders for certain items like food from South African businesses.
