Customers are being urged to be careful when ordering.
Scammers pose as restaurants on delivery apps fongbeerredhot/Shutterstock
Victims have warned that scammers are increasingly using delivery apps to steal money from unsuspecting customers.
20 Minutes reports that many customers who ordered from restaurants through popular delivery apps like Uber Eats and Deliveroo have complained that their orders were cancelled after they had been charged, leaving them without receiving their food and spending the money out of their own pocket.
Delivery apps have soared in popularity in recent years, with one in two French people expected to order food via an app by 2022.
What is fraud?
Users have reported that scammers are registering fake restaurants, sometimes using references to real locations to make them appear more authentic.
Once a customer places an order, the order is accepted and the customer has paid, the “Restaurant” cancels the order.
One X user quoted 20 minutes later said they ordered food from a restaurant claiming to be in Seine-Saint-Denis, but the food never arrived – after an online search revealed the real restaurant was in Reims.
Some of the restaurants involved only have a short presence on the platform and then disappear or are removed by the app.
Uber Eats acknowledged the fraudulent activity but said it was “extremely rare.” The company said the fraudulent activity was relatively small-scale and that customers were quick to report any restaurants involved.
Delivery platforms require restaurants to provide VAT numbers and other forms of identification, but these can easily be forged if fraudsters appropriate existing restaurant identities.
How to avoid getting scammed
Before ordering from a restaurant through a delivery app, do a quick search to make sure it’s genuine.
See if it’s listed where it is and see if it has customer reviews. Diversity in reviews is a good sign. Poorly written or uniformly positive reviews could be a sign that they’re not genuine.
Be suspicious if a restaurant has no reviews at all – this means it’s only just appeared on the app. Also check if the prices seem unusually cheap and if the delivery area is particularly large – scammers may be operating in a large area to target as many people as possible.
Can victims get their money back?
Most delivery apps have a clear way to report fraudulent or suspicious behavior, such as a phone number or online chat feature.
Uber Eats said customers who fell victim to the scam would be “refunded for their order.”
