Who’s really at your door? App delivery drivers in California found using accounts that aren’t theirs

CBS California investigation finds food app drivers using rental accounts to bypass background checks 02:41

Do you know who you are opening your door to? A consumer investigation from CBS News California has uncovered a loophole in which food delivery drivers are using rented or stolen app accounts to bypass background checks, putting customers at risk.

Now, on CBS California’s liability tracker, investigative reporter Julie Watts heads to the State Capitol to find out what lawmakers can do to close the gap and protect consumers.

Charles Bledsoe says he was caught off guard when his DoorDash delivery took a scary turn.

“I didn’t know what he was going to do or why he was trying to get in,” he said.

The driver assigned to deliver her order had to be a woman. Instead, a man showed up at her door and, Bledsoe said, tried to break in.

“I feared for my life,” he said.

The incident sparked a consumer investigation by CBS News California.

Reporter Kristine Lazar and producer Amy Corral discovered that food delivery accounts were being bought, sold and rented online. During a series of test orders they found that one in four drivers did not match the photo displayed on the app.

We took these findings to the California State Capitol.

“Do your laws still protect people if we can’t be sure that the person being background checked is actually the person coming to deliver the food?” Watts asked Councilor Laurie Davies.

“That’s a great question,” Davies replied.

Davies authored a California law that requires food delivery apps to give customers the name and photo of the driver when an order goes out for delivery.

The goal was to help customers know who was coming to their door and provide law enforcement with a way to identify drivers when a crime occurred.

The bill was passed unanimously; It’s a rare achievement for a Republican-written bill in California’s Democrat-majority legislature.

“This is a cross-party issue,” Davies said.

But a CBS News California investigation uncovered what appears to be a major gap.

Accounts are advertised for rent or sale on social media platforms, including Facebook Marketplace and Instagram.

“Even if you don’t have a driver’s license,” Corral said.

The app allows people to bypass background checks required to create delivery accounts, raising concerns that unqualified or potentially dangerous people may be making deliveries under someone else’s identity.

“And we have to do something about it,” Davies said.

In response to the inquiry, Davies said he was exploring stronger safeguards and tougher penalties for people renting, selling or sharing delivery accounts.

“What is the punishment if they are caught doing this? Is there a heavy penalty?” Davies asked.

He continued: “We need to get law enforcement here and tell us what we can do. Then we need to work with our legislators and make sure we close this loophole.”

For Bledsoe, that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.

“What would happen if it were a young lady alone?” he said.

Because if customers can’t trust the photo on the app, they won’t really know who’s coming to their door.

“It was supposed to be a guy who looked like he was in his mid-30s,” Corral said of one of the test orders. “But the man who appeared was definitely not this man.”

CBS News California Investigates also found Uber and Lyft accounts advertised as rentals on social media.

We reached out to Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash. All three companies said account holders found to be involved in fraud were removed from their platforms.

Meta told CBS News California that it reviewed accounts identified during our investigation and removed those found to violate fraud policies.