DoorDash bans driver over alleged AI delivery scam: 'Zero tolerance for fraud'

(NEXSTAR) – A delivery driver for DoorDash has been ousted from the platform after allegedly attempting to trick a customer into thinking their order had been delivered to their door with an image generated by artificial intelligence.

DoorDash customer Byrne Hobart, from Austin, Texas, first shared news of the dubious delivery in a post on social platform X on Dec. 26.

“Amazing. DoorDash driver accepted the drive, immediately marked it as delivered, and submitted an AI-generated image of a DoorDash order […] at our front door,” Hobart wrote.

Along with his post, the user shared the image he was allegedly sent by the DoorDasher. He juxtaposed it with a photo of his actual door.

Hobart later explained that he didn’t think the DoorDash driver was ever physically present at his home but instead used a number of tactics to make it appear to him, and to the powers that be at the company, that it was a legitimate delivery. The user also theorized that the “Dasher” may have been a scammer who simply hacked a legitimate driver’s account, changed the payout information, and attempted to get paid for “a bunch of fake deliveries” before anyone found out.

“For what it’s worth, someone chimed in downthread to say that the same thing happened to him, also in Austin, with the same driver display name,” Hobart said.

When reached for comment, DoorDash confirmed in an emailed statement to Nexstar that they had “permanently removed” the offending account holder from the service.

“After quickly investigating this incident, our team permanently removed the Dasher’s account and ensured the customer was made whole,” a DoorDash spokesperson said. “We have zero tolerance for fraud and use a combination of technology and human review to detect and prevent bad actors from abusing our platform.”

The company added, “Our teams are constantly working on improving those systems as new tactics emerge.”

Hobart, on X, said DoorDash also refunded his order and gave him a credit. His food — a poke bowl — was also later delivered to his home.