Chris Faver is one of the millions of people in the country participating in the gig economy - rideshare and food delivery services such as Uber, and Lyft and DoorDash and Postmates - as a way of making some extra money.
Chris Faver is also one of the many people targeted by scammers who prey on unsuspecting gig economy workers in hopes of stealing their hard earned cash.
For Faver, it began during a busy Sunday evening in March 2019 while he was en route to pick up a meal for one of his DoorDash customers when a call came in from a DoorDash number.
“We have a fraud warning about another device accessing your account,” Faver said that the person told him on the other line. “It sounded legit, it’s Sunday night, it’s busy, I’m on the side of the road, kind of thing”
The person asked him for his PIN number and login information. Since, it was from a DoorDash number he figured he had nothing to worry about.
He didn’t worry...until the next day when he checked his account to see whether his check, expected to be more than $1,700, from DoorDash had cleared.
“When I didn’t get paid on Monday, I tried to figure out why,” Faver told NBC 7 Responds.
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“On Tuesday I found out that my bank information had changed.”
Faver said he remembered the phone call a few days prior.
“I’m embarrassed to say that I actually fell for that trick, it is the oldest trick in the book.” Faver said.
The trick that he fell for has been plaguing workers in the gig economy in recent months and centers around savvy scammers who place orders on DoorDash, then getting the driver’s phone number. They then call the driver - the caller id registers as a DoorDash phone number.
Once the drivers answers the call the scammer asks for the driver’s PIN and security code. Once the personal information is given then the caller changes the bank account information, re-routing it to their account. When the payment from DoorDash goes through, the money is deposited into the fraudster’s account.
When the payment didn’t clear, and when Faver realized his error, he reached out to DoorDash, as well as NBC 7 Responds for help.
NBC 7 contacted DoorDash. The following day the money appeared in Faver’s account.
“I just want to thank Consumer Bob and his team at NBC 7. I couldn’t have done it without you,” said Faver.
NBC 7 Responds reached out to DoorDash. A spokesperson for DoorDash acknowledged that drivers as well as other workers in the gig economy have been targeted by similar scams.
The representative told NBC 7 Responds that DoorDash has issued several warnings to drivers that under no circumstances will DoorDash call the drivers and ask for any personal information.
"No one from DoorDash will ever request your password or security code, nor will anyone from DoorDash ever give you a specific password you should use,” reads the warning from DoorDash. “If you receive a request for your password, security code, or other account details do not share this information -- even if the request appears to come from Support, or the person knows specific details about your order. To maintain the security of your account, it is critical that you keep your password confidential at all times."
As for Faver, while happy he got his money back, he says he is upset it ever got that far.
“I was pretty livid when I realized it all happened, when it all clicked. There’s a part of me that’s like, ‘Hey, that was kind of clever,' but overall, I am pissed.”
