My Phone Was Stolen by a Bykea Rider: My Letter to Bykea

Bykea is a Pakistani app for booking affordable motorbike, car, or rickshaw rides and parcel deliveries in cities like Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. It also offers cash-on-delivery payments and shopping services. Users can book via the app or call, pay with cash or in-app wallet, and track their ride or delivery.

My Story and Why I’m Writing

I’m posting this on the Hive blockchain to reach Bykea and ensure this letter stays public. I’m also emailing the link to Bykea’s email address so they see my story and take action. The hashtag #BykeaKarachiRiderMuhammadWaseem is for SEO, indexing, and references to make this easy to find online. This is about a real incident that happened to me, Muhammad Qasim Butt, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. My goal is to make Bykea’s future customers safer. If Bykea takes steps to improve safety, I’ll update.

The Incident: A Rider Stole My Phone

On April 20, 2025, at noon, I booked a ride through Bykea’s app in Karachi. The rider was Muhammad Waseem. During the ride, he said his map wasn’t working, so I showed him the location on my phone. My phone’s battery was low, so I plugged it into his bike’s charging port to keep the map visible. It was a hot day, and we stopped at a food stall to drink water. While I was returning glasses to the stall, the rider sped off with my phone still charging on his bike.

I borrowed a phone from someone nearby and called my number. After two calls, the rider silenced my phone. Soon after, he factory reset it. I was left stuck, with no phone, no SIM, and no way to understand what just happened.

Trying to Contact Bykea

I rushed home using another rider’s help and called Bykea’s call center from my father’s phone to report the theft. They told me to wait, but after 15 minutes of saying “hello” with no response, the call felt ignored. I called again, and they said my complaint was registered and I’d get a call back in 15 minutes. That call never came. I kept calling, but it seemed like my father’s number was ignored too. Today is Tuesday, April 22, 2025, and I still haven’t heard from Bykea.

Tracking the Rider Myself

OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) is the process of collecting and analyzing publicly available information from sources like social media, news, public records, and the internet to produce actionable insights. Used in cybersecurity, law enforcement, business, and journalism, it helps identify threats, assess risks, or gather competitive intelligence legally and ethically.

I’m a Software Engineering graduate from Bahria University Karachi Campus, and some people on Hive call me “Head Hunter” because of my tech skills. I got to work. Luckily, my WhatsApp was logged in on my laptop. I remembered calling the rider around 11:50 AM that day, and his WhatsApp had a moon profile picture. That gave me his number.

I logged out of all my financial accounts from other devices and called Meezan Bank to disable my banking app, since my ATM card was still with me. This kept my money safe, even though I didn’t know the rider had reset my phone. I shared the rider’s number, my number, and the ride route with Bykea’s call center to confirm it was him. They confirmed it but didn’t follow up, despite promising to contact me.

Finding the Rider’s Details

With the rider’s name (Muhammad Waseem) and number, I used my tech skills to dig deeper. The rider had shared so much information on social media that it took me only 1 to 1.5 hours to compile his details, including his uncle (Father’s younger brother). Since I’d seen his face during the ride, matching it to his social media was easy. I’m not saying I’m a tech genius, but the rider made it simple by sharing too much online.

Getting My Phone Back

I used a classic Good Cop, Bad Cop strategy. I gave all the rider’s details to a friend, who contacted him and said we knew everything about him and his family. We told him no FIR (police report) was filed yet, but if he didn’t return the phone by 6 PM, an FIR would be filed at 6:01 PM. In Pakistan, filing an FIR takes days, and the legal system is slow, costly, and ineffective. I know this from experience, so I wanted to avoid that route.

The rider fell for it. He heard his personal details, his family’s details, the Good Cop offer to return the phone, and the Bad Cop threat of an FIR. Most people pick the Good Cop option, and he did. My digging skills, understanding of human psychology, and quick thinking got my phone back. Bykea and the police did nothing to help.

The Role of Luck and Faith

I won’t lie, luck played a big part. While working, I recited Ayat-e-Kareema (“La ilaha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu minaz zalimin”) countless times. My mouth, throat, and lips dried out, and speaking hurt, but I didn’t stop. I stayed practical, combining faith with a street-smart approach. Without luck, all my planning might have failed.

What I Want from Bykea

I’m not writing this just for me. This is about Bykea and every customer who trusts your service. I was lucky to have WhatsApp on my laptop, but not everyone will be. A phone holds all your data. Contacts, accounts, everything. If a rider runs off with it, what does a customer have left?

Bykea, please talk to me. Use my case to improve your app’s security. Add features to make customers safer. For example, can customers get a rider’s basic data, like their number, via email if their phone is stolen? Can you make it easier to track or report issues? I want you to think big. Not just about me, but about everyone who rides with you, day or night. If a rider steals the phone with all your ride info, what’s next?

A Call for Safer Rides

Bykea, you have thousands of customers who trust you. I’m one case, but there could be more. Use my story as a test case to make your service safer. Communicate with me and introduce new safety features. This isn’t about my phone. It’s about protecting every customer who chooses Bykea. Let’s make rides safer together.