A woman has a terrifying encounter with her DoorDash driver and now puts out a PSA so it won’t happen to others.
In a TikTok with over 94,000 views, content creator Chanel (@chanelllita) breaks down her experience watching her DoorDash driver try to break into her apartment after delivering her food to her doorstep. In the spirit of “awareness” and “safety,” she tells viewers why they should never open the door for DoorDash drivers.
“The amount of people messaging me saying that they always open the door for their Dasher is crazy,” Chanel begins.
What happened after she ordered DoorDash at night?
Chanel says that she ordered from DoorDash and her order arrived around 10:20pm. Instead of opening the door for her drivers, Chanel says she usually hides in a small corner by the front door and watches the driver put the food down, get back in their cars, and leave before she opens the door to retrieve her order.
This night, however, she saw something completely different.
“I see my Dasher get out of the car, come to the front door, put the food down, take a picture. I hear somebody else get out of the car, come to the front door. They’re speaking to each other in Spanish…and all of a sudden, the lady starts trying to unlock my door,” Chanel recounts.
Chanel says she watches and hears the woman shaking the door and the lock clicking back and forth. After initially freezing for a moment, Chanel quickly messages the Dasher to let him know she sees what’s going on.
“I was like, ‘I see you on my Ring camera. You need to put down the food and leave immediately.’ They sprinted off of my front door area, got in the car and floored it out of my driveway,” she says.
Another terrifying discovery
To make matters worse, Chanel says she made another terrifying discovery. “I ran upstairs, checked my mom’s phone on the Ring camera. These people blocked our Wi-Fi. They blocked every single Ring camera all around the house,” she reveals.
Chanel goes on to mention the large number of family and friends who have responded to her story with gratitude that she didn’t open the door for her Dasher—something they said they frequently do.
“Please be so careful. Double, triple-check your locks. Don’t ever open the door for anybody, not even a DoorDasher, nobody,” Chanel advises.
Chanel concludes by mentioning she filed a police report. “I need everyone to realize what kind of world we’re living in,” she says as the video ends.
In the video’s caption, Chanel writes “@DoorDash I mean this is insane and their response is ‘we will get back to you shortly.’”
Viewers weigh in
In the comments, users react to Chanel’s encounter.
“My biggest fears! I always put ‘leave at my door’ and they insist on knocking and standing there waiting for me to open. I live alone so I’m never opening the door for anyone. Glad you’re safe, bb,” one user wrote.
“You need to report them to DoorDash and make sure they don’t do this to anyone else. Good that you filed a police report, too, that is so scary,” a second commenter shared.
“What do you mean they blocked your camera and Wi-Fi?” a third person asked. Yet another responded, “I’m thinking they used a Wi-Fi jammer to block it.”
What is a Wi-Fi jammer?
The use of Wi-Fi jammers in robberies and break-ins is increasing across the United States. Wi-Fi jammers disrupt wireless signals, rendering security cameras, alarms, and smart home systems useless against intruders.
Cybersecurity expert Mark Lanterman told Minnesota-based KARE11 that rather than disconnecting the devices that are connected to Wi-Fi, jammers overwork them. “These devices create traffic jams for the radio transmitter so that real traffic cannot get through,” he said.
The Federal Communications Commission has banned the use of jammers, but they remain in use by criminals. To protect yourself, Lanterman suggests the use of “hardline cameras,” wired cameras which use an Ethernet cord instead of a Wi-Fi network and as such wouldn’t be interfered with by a Wi-Fi jammer.
The Los Angeles Police Department also recommends hard wiring security systems. One way is to purchase surveillance devices that store camera footage directly to the device instead of a cloud storage system. This way, you’ll still have footage saved to the camera in the event of a Wi-Fi disruption.
When it comes to ordering DoorDash, both Chanel and the users in her comments agree that the safest bet is to wait until the driver has left to retrieve your food.
How does DoorDash handle reported Dashers?
According to DoorDash’s Trust and Safety procedures, when a driver is reported by a customer, the Trust and Safety team will “investigate the incident and determine the best course of action.” The reporting customer “may receive communication from DoorDash confirming that the Dasher has been blocked and will not be assigned to [them] in the future.”
In addition, other steps may be taken, including “permanently removing users from the platform,” but DoorDash “may be unable to share specific outcomes” with the customer.
@chanelllita @DoorDash ♬ original sound – Chan
The Daily Dot has reached out to DoorDash via email and Chanel via TikTok and Instagram private message for more information.
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