InstaCart - Latest Scam

[Daisho]

As we hunker down for this pandemic, many of us are trying to maintain social distancing and whatnot. In that vein, online grocery delivery has become more important now than ever. With that reliance, many heroes and those we appreciate arise. And scammers. Lots and lots of scammers. And they are now converging on InstaCart.

See, InstaCart used to have a check-and-balances through it's rating system. However, they had to do away with that to allow more workers to pick and deliver groceries.

Plus, their customer support is none existent. That's not a hyperbole. "Report Issue" links will take you right back to the "Report Issues" page on both the web and the mobile app. Opening a chat window will tell you that there is a 59 minute wait time, and about 10,000 people in front of you (and counting!) Calling their customer support line will get you a message literally telling you they have no customer support.

So, that has allowed a massive loophole for these scammers to jump through. Basically, they will receive your order and start getting the things on your list. But then, they will suddenly add 10 pounds of meat, maybe some hygiene items, and even pet food. Then they will charge your order. A few moments later, you will get the "Delivered" update, but your groceries are nowhere to be found. And now, you have no way to track, cancel, or report the theft. Before, the scammers would deliver what you ordered, and steal only what they added. Now, they just steal the whole thing.

As a former writer, I Know I need facts and some research (read: Goggle). First the anecdotal... yes, it happened to me and my wife earlier tonight. And now, the concrete: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/instacart.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. It's happened a whole lot more.

I'm not saying don't order through InstaCart if you have no other option. I'm sure the good people vastly outnumber the bad. But, first see if maybe there is a "Cancel Order" option you can hit if you see something going awry. If not, maybe message the worker about an ailing wife and six kids, so hopefully yours isn't the order they pull this on.

Mods, I know this isn't the typical post you get here, so I will not be offended if you delete this and hit me on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper.

Otherwise, please try to get word out about this scam and advise those you know on other services. You tell two friends, and they tell two friends... And hopefully this issue gets addressed soon.

And finally, if this gets national or even local attention, well, you heard it here first.

[theCapraAegagrus]

...Mods, I know this isn't the typical post you get here, so I will not be offended if you delete this and hit me on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper.

Otherwise, please try to get word out about this scam and advise those you know on other services. You tell two friends, and they tell two friends... And hopefully this issue gets addressed soon.

And finally, if this gets national or even local attention, well, you heard it here first.

I don't see this happening. UC might have the best mods on the internet.

[MagikFingerz]

Sounds like a valuable PSA to me. Thanks for sharing!

[BaconWise]

Some close friends had this happen two days ago. Their son is highly allergic to many foods, so they have to special-order certain items. They used InstaCart to have that order delivered, only to have it disappear after delivery was made at nearly 10:30 that night. Same situation: no way to talk with customer service. Simply non-existent.

This isn't one of those situations where they are struggling, but it's still aggravating because of the special dietary needs that they have to postpone due to the theft. They are keeping it light though and said in a Facebook post that they hope the thieves like the taste of cardboard food because that's pretty much what it tastes like

Good PSA as not a lot of folks understand that InstaCart isn't monitored at all and without an easy way to report theft, the perpetrator can just walk away.