Uber can't keep down accusations of “vomit fraud” against its drivers

Uber can easily compare image hashes so no image of vomit can be used for more than one claim. That should keep out less technically savvy fraudsters.

They could also demand a scan of a receipt from a cleaning place, and then verify via GPS traces that the driver actually went to the place after the supposed incident but before taking the next ride.

Uber should also make a notification or popup for the customer if they are charged extra after a ride. An "appeal" should be possible from the notification.

Maybe statistics can help. If a uber driver is a “vomit scammer” he’s doing this multiple times, deviating too much from the normal, even if taking into account factors like being late hours, next to a club/pub, etc. Uber can then kick this driver out or, giving the benefit of the doubt, limit the number of “cleaning reimbursements” to force the driver to find better passengers (stay away from nightlife rides?).

Easy fix: Require, maybe also supply in-car cameras and require footage as evidence for reimbursement. A very inexpensive fix to a burgeoning problem.

Somewhere at Uber there is a database to organize a collection of pictures of vomit in cars.

This is a recent meme (many articles lately) no doubt put out by the taxi industry.