Delivery worker reveals alleged ‘scam’ customers use to steal drivers’ pay

An Instacart driver is sparking all kinds of outrage online after sharing an alleged scam tactic he experienced.

The story, which a TikToker named Nick (@niicky_diicky) shared in a now-viral video, has turned into a sort of PSA on ways scammers can take advantage of delivery workers.

It’s just the latest wide-reaching clip to show viewers some of the biggest pain points related to driving for a delivery app. In one recent video, an Uber Eats worker showed how customers can use “tip baiting” to trick their drivers into working faster. In another, a DoorDash driver explained the secret issue with delivering to apartment buildings.

Nick’s storytime video details an incredibly frustrating experience that left his Instacart account frozen and stalled his ability to work and earn money.

As Nick explains in the clip, it all started when he got a simple delivery request for just two items. After he reached the store, the customer messaged him to say they might need to cancel their order due to an emergency.

Nick messaged them back, but they never confirmed that they needed to cancel the order. So, he went on with his delivery — purchasing the items and heading back to his car. Once there, the customer told him they needed to cancel the order but said that if Nick sent them his phone number, they’d Venmo him a tip for his wasted time.

“I didn’t think anything about that was weird,” Nick added.

Nick then reported to Instacart’s customer care service that his customer had canceled the order. A few minutes later, a person claiming to work for Instacart called him and said his customer was disputing the canceled order. According to the voice on the phone, Nick’s customer claimed that they never canceled their order and accused him of stealing their food.

Confused, Nick explained what had actually happened. The voice on the phone then told him to provide his phone number and a one-time passcode to log into his account so they could resolve the issue. Hoping to get back to deliveries ASAP, Nick gave the info.

But as it turned out, the alleged Instacart worker on the phone and the “customer” who’d canceled their order were the same person. As Nick explained, it was all an elaborate scam to gain access to his Instacart login.

Immediately, the scammer tried cashing out Nick’s Instacart account, where he’d kept countless deliveries worth of pay. Thankfully, they didn’t manage to get the money — although the incident caused Nick’s account to be frozen, preventing him from making deliveries.

The harrowing story infuriated many TikTok users, some of whom said they’d heard of the scam before.

“Apparently, this is the new scam; this is the second time I’ve heard this happening,” one user wrote.

“People will literally do anything for money,” another added.

“These scams are getting out of hand. That’s such an elaborate scheme,” another agreed.

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