Featured Image Credit: DoorDash
It seems that crime sometimes does pay, with one sneaky DoorDash customer exploiting the food delivery service to get a refund via some AI trickery.
That's all well and good as you tuck into your free meal, but watch out because DoorDash is about.
With AI everywhere in 2026, we can't move for misinformation and being left with egg on our faces when we fall for the latest video of kangaroos bouncing on trampolines, retirement home residents that don't exist, or an adorable raccoon bathing a cat. We've come a long way from AI Will Smith eating spaghetti, and these days, it would be hard to distinguish what's fake and what's the Fresh Prince tucking into a real-life bowl of pasta.
Even though we'd like to think we're savvy enough not to hand over our life savings to an AI scammer masquerading as Brad Pitt, we've got to admit that scams are getting more sophisticated.
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In the aftermath of one heart-warming story where nearly $1,000,000 was raised for an elderly couple who were working for DoorDash to make ends meet, this one is a little less wholesome.
We previously covered how this is hitting DoorDash in the pocket, with some customers using ChatGPT to make their food look inedible.
Often making perfectly cooked food look raw and then demanding a refund, some people are going to extreme lengths to avoid paying for their dinner. Over on TikTok, one customer shared a picture of their manipulated food and wrote, "Should out to ChatGPT 😭🤷♀️."
Calling out DoorDash in the caption, they added: "Cuz who tf**k was they feeling like forgetting my carrots and ranch that I paid EXTRA for and had the nerve to send some cold a** chicken yea ok ! 😭😭🤪."
Although the OP apparently wasn't impressed with their meal, they went out of their way to make it look like they'd been served raw chicken. Reaping the rewards, the video ends with them boasting about getting $40 of credit. The thing is, we're not sure you'll be able to spend it. As the video went viral, the official DoorDash TikTok responded and wrote: "Oop should’ve blocked us!"
While some applauded this deception, others were less impressed. Saying that someone could get fired for this, one critic added: "Some people’s lives depend on DoorDash or Uber, and you're gonna get fired over a few dollars? Selfish."
Another grumbled: "Did it too many times they don’t even let me get a refund anymore 😔."
Others were less fussed, as someone else concluded: "I don't understand how it's weird to get 40$ of free food from a billion-dollar company…"
Still, others reminded us that it was the restaurant that prepared the food that's largely going to be short-changed instead of DoorDash. Namely, most told them to delete the video so they could try the hack for themselves.
This kind of AI fraud apparently works both ways, with TechCrunch reporting how one DoorDash employee was using AI to fake deliveries – presumably gobbling the food themselves. The Austin-based customer claimed that the driver had taken a picture of their front door and used tech to place a DoorDash order in front of it as 'proof' it was dropped off.
That was thankfully cleared up, with DoorDash telling the outlet: "After quickly investigating this incident, our team permanently removed the Dasher’s account and ensured the customer was made whole. 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."
