Officers from Poland’s Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime arrested a 23-year-old local resident who impersonated residents and local politicians and ordered hundreds of pizzas in their names, promising, “I will pay the delivery driver directly."
The investigation was launched after Polish residents and politicians complained that pizza delivery drivers had arrived at their homes claiming that orders had been placed in their names and demanding payment for the pizzas. The residents and politicians were stunned to discover that the orders contained personal information, including addresses, telephone numbers, details about family members, and confidential personal information.
According to investigators, “Some of the orders contained detailed information about the victims that could have been known only to them or to people close to them. The orders also contained threats, such as the kidnapping of a minor, setting fire to a notary’s office, and causing a traffic accident. These actions left them feeling threatened and afraid and constituted an invasion of their privacy."
Officers from Poland’s cybercrime unit opened an investigation and soon determined that the person behind the cruel prank was a 23-year-old resident of the city of Szczecin. In one of the orders he placed, he sent 300 pizzas, worth 8,583 euros, to the homes of local residents who knew nothing about the order.
He was detained for two months and faces up to eight years in prison on charges of harassment, identity fraud, and causing substantial financial losses to local restaurants by ordering hundreds of unpaid meals to be delivered to random, unsuspecting residents.