LA residents plagued by spat of random Uber Eats deliveries

Los Angeles residents have been plagued by a series of erroneous deliveries from Uber Eats in recent months, leaving sleuths around the city confused as to who is behind the unwanted deliveries.

The seemingly endless barrage of bags from eateries like McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Starbucks, hitting two neighborhoods in particular, comes at any hour of the day and has even prompted an investigation by the food company.

In Highland Park, a man reported being swamped 13 deliveries in one day, none of which he ordered. Neighbors shared similar stories, with some theorizing that the warrants are a creative way for burglars to storm their homes.

More than 15 miles away in Westwood Hills, the same mystery unfolds, sparking alarm and leading some to report the case to the LAPD.

One resident called the dozens of unwanted orders she’s been given “creepy and unnerving,” with the perpetrator – or perpetrators – still on the loose.

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Some dismiss the never-ending deliveries – which often contain only one item – as harmless pranks, while others suspect something nefarious is going on

“It felt invasive because there was a revolving door of strangers dropping off food,” the Westwood Hill resident told me The L.A. Times, asking to remain anonymous for fear of further unwanted attention. “But is that what they were really doing?”

Others, meanwhile, dismiss the never-ending deliveries as harmless jokes, citing that they often contain only one item, such as a lone McDonald’s McCrispy.

But citizens like William Neal of Highland Park, an LA suburb, suspect something far worse is going on.

“About 80 percent of the time it was a single Chicken McCrispy,” Highland Park resident William Neal told me. ABC 7 Eyewitness News last month of the never-ending orders, which started in January.

When asked if he enjoyed the free food, or if he even likes the fast food chicken sandwich, he has since eaten more than a dozen times, he replied jokingly, “I don’t know how I feel about it now.” [They] chase my dreams.’

Terry Tegnazian, a member of the Property Owners Association in affluent Westwood Hills, told the Times on Thursday that she has heard much of the same from the resident, including a man who believed “something disgraceful and criminal was going on.”

The resident, Tegnazian told the paper, debated whether the orders, all paid for and with wrong names, were sent “as a way to get around houses, to see if anyone was home for a possible burglary.”

The theory quickly spread like wildfire, eventually leading to a response from the city’s sprawling police department in February. in the form of an email to Tegnazian’s office.

In Highland Park, a man reported being inundated with 13 deliveries in one day, not all of which he ordered. Neighbors shared similar stories, with some theorizing that the warrants are a creative way for burglars to storm their homes

One civilian, who asked not to be named, called the dozens of unwanted warrants she has received “creepy and unnerving,” with the perpetrator – or perpetrators – still at large.

“About 80 percent of the time it was a single Chicken McCrispy,” Highland Park resident William Neal told ABC 7 Eyewitness News last month of the orders, which began in January.

In it, officers shot down the burglary theory, saying police had “concluded that all these deliveries were not initiated by a burglary gang.”

At the time, orders were exclusive to Westwood Hills — though last month the same phenomenon inexplicably crept all the way across town in Highland Park, a relatively sleepy suburb recently rocked by a mass shooting last summer.

Nearly a month later, residents said the deliveries are still coming — and still showing up at every hour. Some residents have reported receiving as many as 40 orders.

“When it suddenly became too much food, we tried to find places to donate it or give it away,” Neal told KTLA-TV of how he and his neighbors handled the sudden influx.

Fellow resident Morgan Currier further recalled to ABC7 how her entire street was filled with bags of McDonald’s and Starbucks in March, “and no one could explain where it came from.”

“People get more than 30 to 40 orders,” said Courier, a vegetarian.

She added to the LA Times of the one item she received relentlessly, “I got 20 piece nuggets with sweet and sour sauce. What a shame… to send it to a vegetarian.”

Fellow resident Morgan Currier further recalled to ABC7 how in March her entire street was full of bags, “and no one could explain where it came from.” Both Uber and the LAPD are investigating the unexplained deliveries

Now she says she just hands the orders over to her more fleshed-out neighbor.

“I’d text, ‘Come over and get it,'” she said, before revealing that even he’s gotten tired of handouts.

“Even he said, ‘I can’t keep eating 20 chicken nuggets. I’ve reached my limit.'”

Meanwhile, residents of both communities have yet to find a source for the supplies — nor have they been able to stop them.

A spokesperson for Uber, the parent company of Uber Eats, confirmed they are investigating the unwanted deliveries — though the rep said staff had not seen any activity in its system to suggest they come from an umbrella scam.

That said, some suspect the orders are part of a particular kind of ruse known as a phishing scam – where fraudsters scam their targets by sending them an email or message that appears to be from a known source.

In the case of the mysterious UberEats orders, some theorize that whoever facilitates the deliveries is trying to lull homeowners into a sense of complacency before eventually calling or messaging unwilling customers to learn potentially sensitive information, such as Social Security or credit card numbers. .

An UberEats driver in Florida told The Times on Thursday how he nearly fell victim to one such scam last month when he agreed to deliver food from a local Taco Bell to a home in Clermont.

The 21-year-old delivery man, Guner Harris, said he first suspected something was up when he picked up the surprisingly light order, only to find that it contained only one packet of hot sauce – and nothing else.

The customer soon canceled the delivery, but moments later Harris received a call with “Uber” as the caller.

Harris said he answered only to hear the person on the other line asking for Harris’ Uber Eats username and password, ostensibly to issue compensation.

Harris said at the time that he refused, before hanging up and reporting the incident to the company.

Based in San Francisco, the company says they are currently in contact with the LAPD and there was no indication that the unwanted deliveries were directly related to recent robberies.

The joint investigation is still ongoing – and in the meantime, some locals have begun posting ‘No Delivery’ signs in an effort to quell the constant stream of orders.

Others have used the shared ordeal as a bonding experience. “There’s just been more neighborly relations about it,” Highland Parl’s Kelsey McManus told the Times. “we talked about doing our own research on it, making a little podcast.”

Sociologist Malka Older added of the unfolding mystery: ‘Someone is doing something and it’s hard to explain.

“There is something going on here that is worth something in terms of money or satisfaction. That makes us curious.’