Warning of fake restaurant scam on delivery apps

Scammers are increasingly using delivery apps to steal money from unsuspecting customers, victims have warned. 

A number of customers have complained of ordering from restaurants on popular delivery apps such as Uber Eats and Deliveroo, only for their order to be cancelled after they have been charged, 20 minutes reports. They never receive their food and end up out of pocket. 

Delivery apps have surged in popularity over the past few years, with one in two French people using an app to order food in 2022. 

What is the scam?

Users have reported scammers are registering fake restaurants, which are sometimes inspired by real places to give them an air of authenticity. 

Once the customer has placed the order, it has been accepted and the customer has paid, the “restaurant” cancels the order. 

One X user, quoted in 20 minutes, said they had ordered food from a restaurant that claimed to be located in Seine-Saint-Denis and never received the food. They later realised after an online search that the real restaurant was in Reims. 

Some of the restaurants involved only stay on the platforms for a short while before disappearing or being removed by the apps.

Uber Eats confirmed the scam but said “these cases of fraud are extremely rare”. It said such scams were relatively small-scale, as any restaurant involved is immediately reported by the customer. 

Delivery platforms require restaurants to provide their VAT numbers as well as other identity documents. But these can be easy to fake, especially when scammers steal the identity of an existing restaurant. 

How to prevent being scammed 

Before you order from a restaurant on a delivery app, do a quick search to make sure it is real. 

Check it is located where it claims to be, and note if it has customer reviews. A range of reviews is a good sign. Reviews that are badly written or too uniformly glowing, could be a sign that they are not genuine.

If a restaurant has no reviews at all, be suspicious. This means it has just appeared on the app. Also look at whether the prices seem unusually low, or the delivery area seems particularly large – scammers could be working a wide area to try to target as many people as possible. 

Can victims get their money back?

Most delivery apps have a clear way to report any fraudulent or suspicious behaviour such as a phone number or online chat facility.

Uber Eats said customers who are victims of fraud “are reimbursed for the amount of the order”.