When David Smith was arrested, he had five safes in his Stamford, Connecticut apartment. Inside was $733,000 in cash.
Police found that money in January 2023 after they responded to a domestic violence call there. They found more than 100 stolen credit cards, two fake IDs, and several cell phones.
He had been robbing DoorDash drivers for three years, using a super simple scam involving only a single phone call.
He Stole From Over 700 Drivers And Was Later Murdered
Smith allegedly scammed more than 700 drivers, stealing their paychecks by posing as DoorDash customer support. Some of the victims lost multiple paychecks, and some poor drivers even quit out of desperation because they could not regain access to their accounts.
Two days before his court date, he was shot multiple times in the chest outside an apartment complex in New Rochelle, New York.
His Scam Method Is Growing, And Other Scammers Are Using It
Pleasant Green, the scambaiter, now says that other scammers are mimicking his methods, and it’s growing like wildfire.
The scam works because while drivers are picking up food orders from customers, the customer (a criminal using a stolen credit card that placed the order) pulls off a DoorDash impersonation scheme to take over their driver account.
Watch how it works in action here.
How The Scam Works
The scam involves several steps that ultimately end up with the scammer diverting the DoorDash drivers’ paychecks to bank accounts that the scammer controls.
This infographic explains the steps in detail.
What DoorDash Is Doing About It
The company now plays an automated warning before connecting customer calls to drivers: “This is your DoorDash customer calling. Never share personal information, passwords, or verification codes with anyone over the phone.”
DoorDash has also increased identity checks for drivers. More than 150,000 couriers must now re-verify their identity weekly using real-time selfies. The company says monthly deactivations of fraudulent accounts have more than doubled compared to last year.
How To Protect Yourself If You Are A Driver
Never share verification codes with anyone who calls, even if the call appears to come from DoorDash. Real support staff will not ask for these codes over the phone.
If something feels wrong, hang up and contact DoorDash through the official app. Check your payout settings regularly so you catch unauthorized changes before your next payday.
And remember – that call showing “DoorDash” on your screen might just be the customer who ordered a single packet of hot sauce or some other small order with a stolen credit card.
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What is Frank on Fraud? Frank on Fraud shares a Fraud Fighter’s perspective on the critical growth in fraud happening all over the world. Writer Frank Mckenna is an advocate for fraud analysts, investigators, fraud managers, and fraud data scientists. Frank has dedicated his entire career to fighting fraud just like they do each and every day.