Stamford man scammed DoorDash drivers in California out of nearly $1 million, police say
STAMFORD, Conn. -- A Connecticut man is accused of orchestrating a nearly million-dollar scam targeting DoorDash drivers in California.
The investigation into David Smith, 21, started with a report of a domestic dispute involving a gun at an apartment building in Stamford.
"They were searching the apartment for the firearm and noticed several stacks of loose cash around the apartment, about a hundred payment cards not in the suspect's name or the victim's name, and a couple of fake IDs," said Vanessa Lynn, an investigator with the Stamford Police Department.
Lynn said officers eventually found more than $700,000 stuffed inside various lockboxes - the alleged proceeds of a complex scam.
"When you place an order on DoorDash, the driver's information comes up and there's a way to contact them," said Lynn.
Police said Smith placed orders and used technology to send text messages to drivers that appeared to come from DoorDash, then convinced them to log into an official-looking, but fake, DoorDash support site, giving Smith access to the drivers' accounts.
"And then he would change the banking information that the DoorDash driver had on there for their direct deposits to a payment card that he had fraudulently obtained," said Lynn.
The scheme started in 2020, when Smith was just 18, according to the arrest warrant.
In a statement, DoorDash called it "an egregious and appalling crime. We regularly remind [drivers] to keep their account information secure and ... share tips ... on how to avoid these type of attacks."
Police believe Smith thought the distance between him and drivers in California would make it harder to investigate.
In all, 700 drivers lost money, but police recovered most of it and they will likely get partial restitution.
