A woman arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport faced a terrifying “kidnapping” scenario only to discover that the police, whom she thought were her saviors, were going to force her to pay the alleged criminal for the ride. This outcome is genuinely shocking and completely undermines the trust travelers place in law enforcement during a crisis.
Alexis Eleanor, a TikTok creator known as @alexiseleanor1, took to social media right after her two-week trip to Thailand to recount the scary experience. In her video on TikTok, she claims a fake taxi driver scammed her out of hundreds of dollars after snatching her luggage outside the arrivals gate.
Eleanor admits she knew about the fake taxi scams that plague JFK, but the man was quick and aggressive. He immediately grabbed her bags and walked her toward a parking garage. When she questioned if he was a Yellow Cab, the approved taxi service, he had a quick excuse ready. “He was like, ‘Yellow Cabs can’t come to JFK anymore,’” she recalled.
She thought the excuse was fishy, but he loaded her bags into his car before she could properly question him
She also notes that since no one else stepped in to help her when he grabbed the bags, she felt compelled to get into the car, fearing he would just drive away with her belongings from Thailand. “I’ve been here before. I know there’s fake taxis,” she said in the video that quickly gained traction.
Once she was in the vehicle, the situation escalated rapidly. The driver initially quoted her around $300 for the ride into the city, but as they drove, he continued to raise the estimated price by hundreds of dollars. That’s when the danger became clear. Eleanor recalls asking him, “‘What kind of company can’t take card?'” when he told her to pull cash out of an ATM. Even worse, she noticed he had engaged the child locks, preventing her from escaping the vehicle.
Realizing she was in serious trouble, she texted her sister, asking her to call the police and have them meet her at the destination. The driver eventually stopped and that’s when she saw help arrive. “The moment he stops, I start angry screaming, crying, which is why all my lashes are stuck together,” she explained. “I finally see this f— crowd of cops.”
The police removed the man from the car and initially told Eleanor she needed to come to the station to file a full report. Unfortunately, that’s where the safety ended and the nightmare began. She says the police changed their minds, let the alleged kidnapper go, and then told her she still had to pay him.
“They have him approach me with my s— still in his f— car,” she exclaimed in disbelief. “Apparently this ride was worth $238 to the cops.” She noted that one officer was trying to tell the others that the driver was likely using a fake Uber app, suggesting they knew the man was operating illegally. Although there have been some horror stories, even with real Uber drivers, this seems to have crossed all limits.
It’s absolutely unbelievable that law enforcement would validate an illegal transaction like this.
Published: Jan 26, 2026 01:30 pm