Identity fraud widespread among meal couriers
Many meal couriers working for platforms like Deliveroo and Uber Eats use false accounts, an investigation by De Tijd shows. Undocumented people and minors do so in order to be able to work, while others pay to borrow the login of a colleague with the aim of dodging taxes.
A trade in access to Deliveroo and Uber Eats delivery rider accounts is flourishing on social media, De Tijd reports. The newspaper obtained access to three private Facebook groups for meal couriers, each with 6,000 to 10,000 members. The groups contain dozens of posts from people who are looking for Uber Eats and Deliveroo accounts or offering logins.
After the "subcontractors" gain access to the account of someone who signed up with their real identity, they can begin delivering meals. They then work for roughly a month, after which the "supplier" transfers the wages to their account.
Extra income
Meal couriers use false accounts for diverse reasons. Some are undocumented migrants, while minors use the false accounts to circumvent age restrictions.
Unemployed people who want to earn extra income without losing part of their benefits also pay for a login. Others are committing identity fraud for tax reasons: by working with different accounts, couriers can work more at favourable rates without paying social security contributions.
It is estimated that about half of the couriers use false identities. Both Deliveroo and Uber Eats defended themselves in written responses by stating that facial recognition checks have been introduced in recent years. However, these are proving to be ineffective.
A bicycle courier delivering meals for Deliveroo in the centre of Ghent © PHOTO ARTERRA
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