'How does this happen?': DoorDash scammer leaves Smoque BBQ fuming after fake orders
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Smoque in Old Irving Park is a go-to for BBQ fans.
But a scammer pretended to be the popular restaurant on DoorDash. CBS 2's Shardaa Gray is pushing for answers about how this could happen.
Orders constantly flow inside Smoque BBQ in Old Irving Park. and co-owner, Barry Sorkin said since the pandemic, online orders have been key.
"Our business is definitely more heavily takeout than it ever was pre-pandemic. And DoorDash is a big part of that," Sorkin said.
So he was puzzled when he went on the app on Tuesday and saw a fake Smoque account with the same hours, same address and similar food items.
"We were just kind of going about our normal business, and all of a sudden we'd just get DoorDash drivers coming to pick up orders for orders we didn't have," Sorkin said.
The fake account was taken down shortly after CBS 2 reached out to DoorDash. But Sorkin said it's not the first time this happened. In October, scammers did the same thing, creating a fake Smoque account.
He reached out to DoorDash and had to provide paperwork to prove they're real.
"If we have to jump through all these hoops to prove that we're the legitimate owners, where were all those safeguards when whoever did this was making all the changes that resulted in the fraudulent site," wondered Sorkin said.
Barry Sorkin said the first time scammers made the fraudulent page on the app, it took several days to get the restaurant back in order.
"Obviously lost revenue and lost sales, but we can live with that for a while. I just don't want people paying for orders that are not ever getting sent to anybody."
Sorkin even heard from one customer on Facebook asking where his order was.
"I'm grateful that they're able to get the fraudulent site down quickly. I'm assuming they'll get the proper site up quickly, but I really want to understand is how does this happen," asked Sorkin.
CBS 2 asked DoorDash what will it'll do to make sure this doesn't happen again. DoorDash said it checks tax information to validate if a business is real.
Then if there are more questions about a restaurant's legitimacy, the company will also request a personal ID to validate it.
DoorDash issued this statement: "We have collaborated with Smoque BBQ to understand the recent situation, deactivate the fraudulent store and reinstate the correct restaurant on our platform."