Warning: Food delivery platform impersonation scams
Scammers are impersonating food delivery apps, restaurants, customers and delivery drivers to trick people out of money, orders, or account access on multiple sides of the transaction.
Reports describe scammers posing as a food delivery platform's support team, contacting drivers or customers about a supposed order problem and asking for a login code or payment to “fix” it. Others pose as a restaurant taking phone orders and payment outside the official app, or as a customer claiming an order never arrived to pressure a refund.
Because food delivery involves several parties — the platform, the restaurant, the driver and the customer — scammers can target whichever link is easiest, using urgency around a “stuck” order or account suspension to get a one-time code, card details, or a direct payment.
Australia's Scamwatch is warning everyone who uses food delivery platforms, including restaurants and delivery workers, to keep all communication and payment inside the official app and to never share a one-time login code with anyone.
What to do
- Keep orders, messages, and payments inside the official delivery app
- Never share a one-time passcode with anyone, including “support”
- Verify account or order problems by logging in directly, not via a link in a message
- Restaurants and drivers should confirm identity through the platform, not by phone alone
- Report impersonation attempts to the platform and to Scamwatch