In February of this year Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, joined with BMW as the companies merged their car sharing services, transforming car2go and DriveNow to Share Now. And while the combined resources were meant to bolster the service for customers of both companies, it apparently also made the service a higher profile target for criminals.
News out of Chicago describes how more than *twenty people have been arrested after upwards of 100 Mercedes-Benz and other luxury vehicles were reported as missing or stolen. A number of these vehicles have been tied directly to criminal activity. As a result, the Share Now service has been temporarily suspended in the Windy City.
According to a Share Now representative, the organization is working with law enforcement on what is being described as a fraud issue related to the manipulation of a mobile app used by the service. Share Now has also stated that no personal or confidential member information was compromised and that some of the vehicle have been recovered.
The ridesharing service is part of a $1.1 billion combined investment in which Daimler and BMW will partner on ride-hailing, electric-vehicle charging, and other mobility technologies and services. It looks like cybersecurity might need to be added to that list.
*Recently updated information.