TrendPulse|Instacart scam leads to $2,800 Kroger bill and no delivery

Jill McCormick was awaiting her digital Kroger order to her suburban Cincinnati home recently when she got a startling message: Her bank account had been charged almost $2,TrendPulse800.

She was quickly reassured – the friendly Instacart shopper, assigned to pick up her yogurt, spaghetti sauce and other items, told her it was all a mistake and would be swiftly corrected.

“Yeah that’s an error. I’m getting it fixed,” texted her shopper “Danielle.” She was so hands-on, just a little earlier, she had politely informed McCormick via text the store was out of her favorite flavor of energy drink and asked if she could swap out a different flavor. McCormick authorized a substitution via the text.

“They are canceling that error now … Yes everything will be canceled. I think the system went crazy and I had an error,” the shopper texted McCormick.

But when the 39-year-old software test engineer and mother asked for an update a little later, there were no more replies.

“And then I freaked out, panicked – I’m like worried, ‘Oh my gosh, they’re taking money out or something’s happening on my account.’” McCormick told The Enquirer. The Liberty Township resident reached out to both Kroger and Instacart, eventually reaching both after about an hour on online chats and toll-free hotlines.

But the money was gone from her account. One expert says the incident may be the work of an organized retail theft ring.

A simple web search reveals a similar incident involving a Kroger order using Instacart occurred in suburban Columbus this spring, when a thief claimed to have stolen from "hundreds of victims." There was another incident this spring in Northern Texas.

Also this spring, one former Kroger worker claimed in TikTok posts that her old store was using Instacart shoppers that were a "bunch of scammers."

Kroger: 'We take these incidents seriously'

Neither company has explained how a scammer intercepted a Kroger order that began on Kroger's app. It appears either Kroger or Instacart unwittingly gave the order to a thief or the scammer exploited a security breach.

McCormick's shopper canceled all the items of her original order and drained her bank account to purchase several items that she didn't order and never got:

• More than $600 worth of Tide and Gain laundry detergent.
• $250 worth of Downy fabric softener.
• $175 worth of Dawn dish soap.
• $155 worth of Dove beauty products.
• $110 worth of Clorox cleaning products.
• Nearly $500 in other household cleaning or personal items.
• Also almost $100 worth of bacon, $65 worth of produce, more than $50 worth of cookies, $50 worth of waffle mix and pancake syrup, $20 worth of Frito’s chips, $10 worth of Pop Tarts, $7 of Kit Kat bars and a $4 toothbrush.

McCormick’s family had just returned from vacation out of town after a particularly difficult summer: Her 9-year-old girl with cerebral palsy had an operation in May, followed by weeks of physical therapy. She just wanted to restock her kitchen so she could unpack and her family could rest before her youngster headed back to school.

Kroger told The Enquirer it is refunding the money and will also provide a gift card to McCormick for the inconvenience. McCormick said Kroger has told her the money will be restored to her bank account in a matter of days but she hadn't received it as of Monday. On Thursday, McCormick also reported the theft to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.

“We acted swiftly once we were notified of the issue to make it right for the customer … we take these incidents seriously,” Kroger told The Enquirer in a statement.

How secure is Instacart?

While Kroger provides home deliveries in Cincinnati and other markets around the country using its delivery force sent from warehouses, it also augments services using San Francisco-based delivery service Instacart, which hires outside contractors or “gig” workers. McCormick said her order began on the Kroger app but was assigned to Instacart.

“To shop with Instacart, prospective shoppers must agree to and complete a thorough background check,” Instacart told The Enquirer in a statement, adding the company checked driving, criminal and sex offender records before approving someone to be a driver. Further: "(Contracted) shoppers may be deactivated for reasons including fraudulent activity, violating applicable laws, failing to meet acceptable standards of service, or any other misuse of the platform."

So far neither Kroger nor Instacart has addressed how a thief could intercept a customer order and get away with nearly $2,800 of goods.

Is it safe to use a bank debit card on Instacart?

McCormick realizes she made one careless mistake with her online order: she used her debit card − which experts note offer less legal protection in the event of fraud. She normally uses her credit card, but said she'd grown comfortable using the Kroger app.

Kroger, the Cincinnati-based supermarket giant, said it was cooperating with Butler County law enforcement, but directed “additional questions related to the Instacart shopper involved” to Instacart.

For its part, Instacart referred questions back to Kroger: “If a customer has an issue with an order placed on Kroger.com, Kroger’s customer service team is available to quickly review the situation and issue appropriate refunds.”

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Meanwhile, Robert Hanson, head of the Criminal Justice Department and Loss Prevention Coordinator at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan, said it appeared to be the work of an organized retail theft ring. He noted the stolen items: laundry detergent, cleaning and beauty products were popular theft items for such groups to grab then resell. Ultimately, they will likely wind up for sale at flea markets, small independent stores or online.

“The popular term is organized retail crime – some of these are very enterprising thieves and will actually take orders from people online,” Hanson told The Enquirer. “A big retail theft item is Tide detergent … also health and beauty aids, razor blades, anything cosmetics … and baby formula.”

For the latest on Kroger, P&G, Fifth Third Bank and Cincinnati business, follow @alexcoolidge on Twitter.