18-year-old Uber passenger who stole from driver's tip jar gloats after video goes viral

An 18-year-old from Brooklyn, US, has candidly admitted to stealing money from an Uber driver's tip jar after her video went viral on social media.

Gabrielle Canales, who goes by the name Gabita on social media, had stolen the money from driver Mohammed H Bhuiyan's jar in August while travelling with two of her friends in New York City. She was identified this week when footage of her went viral, The Daily Mail reported.

The footage, which showed Canales stealing money while looking directly at the camera, went viral on Tuesday (7 November). But it seems that she is not sorry.

The teen reportedly shared screenshots of news articles about the theft as well as a rather unapologetic post on her social media accounts.

"actually [sic] this was before i left my house but his little $5 was returned when it happened 3 months ago lol. but never was the type for jail," she reportedly wrote. The Instagram account has since been deleted.

On 12 August, Canales was filmed shamelessly looking into the camera before taking the money. She along with her two friends then rushed towards the street, leaving the driver in the car unaware of what happened.

It was some moments later, the driver noticed his empty jar and then realised that his money was stolen. He claimed that he informed Uber about the incident but received an unsatisfactory response.

Bhuiyan also said that the ride-sharing company had advised him to file a police complaint if he wanted, but he said he was too busy.

Meanwhile, it was reported that Uber has deactivated the account of the teen and she is no longer allowed to use the service. "What's been shown has no place on our app and the rider's access to the app has been removed," the ride-sharing company's spokesperson said.

However, it is not clear whether or not police have investigated the matter.