DoorDash AI Delivery Scam Gets One Driver Banned In Texas

Doordash scams are nothing new. We've all heard (or personally experienced) stories of restaurants disguising Chuck-E-Cheese pizza, the half-eaten delivery orders, or missing food. To help prevent scams and unfair accusations, DoorDash asks drivers to snap photos of delivered food. Theoretically, the photos serve as proof that the drivers performed their job.

One unscrupulous driver came up with a creative way to game the system. The driver allegedly used AI to steal a poke bowl from Austin-based tech writer Byrne Hobart. "Amazing," Hobart wrote in a now-viral post on X. "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 included both the AI image and a photo of his actual door. While the AI image roughly matches the details of Hobart's actual front door — the leaded glass design, terra cotta-tiled porch, and doormat — there's no mistaking the image for an actual cell phone snapshot. The flat lighting, squared-off composition, and airbrushed appearance give it away.

Hobart admitted that the story would be easy to fake, but it seems he's not the only person who's experienced the scam. Another Austin-based X user chimed in with a similar story. The user noted that the driver used the same display name, and the image featured the same flat, airbrushed style. Commenters noted that the driver wouldn't even need to stop by the house — DoorDash drivers can see images from previous trips so they'll know where to drop their delivery.

After Hobart reached out to customer service, DoorDash immediately offered to replace the missing meal. A representative told TechCrunch that the driver was banned from the platform — and confirmed the story. "Our team permanently removed the Dasher's account and ensured the customer was made whole," explained DoorDash. "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." Ironic, from a company with a history of being pretty scammy itself.

Don't worry, AI-assisted DoorDash fraud probably isn't going to become the norm. Commenters noted that the driver probably had to go to extreme measures to execute the scam. Typically, DoorDash drivers can only use images taken through the app instead of uploading them through their photo gallery. Hobart speculated that the driver used a jailbroken phone and a stolen DoorDash account to hack the system. Yes, it's possible to get a few extra dollars and a poke bowl out of the deal, but it's probably not that much more profitable than honest work as a real DoorDasher.