Uber denies its security is compromised after Kiwi taken for a ride in Moscow

Screen grab of the Uber trip that Aucklander Calum Laird woke up to. Photo / Supplied

Uber is investigating a New Zealand man's claims the firm charged him for a taxi ride in Moscow - despite the fact he's never been to Russia.

Calum Laird, of Auckland, said Uber billed him 2358 roubles - about $47 - for the trip in the Russian capital on Friday evening.

Mr Laird said he was in Auckland with his family at the time. "It's really bizarre," he told the Herald on Sunday.

The incident raised has questions about the security of Uber's app accounts.

A spokesman for the company said it used industry-standard security practices for its smartphone app. These practices included firewalls, secure socket layers (SSL) and encryption of data in transit to protect information.

"This is a good opportunity to remind people to use strong and unique usernames and passwords and to avoid reusing the same credentials across multiple sites and services," he added.

"We take allegations of fraudulent activity seriously and are investigating the reported incident."

The spokesman said Uber customers who noticed suspicious account activity should contact their bank or email support@uber.com at once.