Foodies Clan

The Canadian Hamburglar has ordered thousands of dollars worth of McNuggets and poutine on customers’ accounts

Canadian “Hamburglar” terrorizes McDonald’s app users with thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges

Since January, there have been reports of a mysterious fraudster (or fraudsters) known in the Canadian media as the Quebec Hamburglar, who hacks McDonald’s app accounts and racks up hundreds or even thousands of dollars in charges on unsuspecting customers’ linked credit and debit cards by ordering meals for pick up in the province. The latest victim of this criminal enterprise, CBC News reports, is a Toronto tech writer, Patrick O’Rourke, whose app account was used to order $2,034 ($1,512 USD) worth of McDonald’s menu items in Montreal, including McNuggets, Big Macs, McFlurries, and poutine (oh, Canada).

While his bank eventually refunded the charges, O’Rourke told CBC News he isn’t pleased with McDonald’s response: “To me, it just seems a little bit negligent … like they don’t really care. McDonald’s should at least be sending out a mass email to everyone that has the account [to say], ‘Hey, you should reset your password.’” Reddit and Twitter are full of unhappy customers who have similarly been forced to turn to their banks and credit card companies instead of just receiving refunds from McDonald’s. Until the fast-food company improves the security of their app by adding two-factor authentication (ha), or their customer service by proactively warning and refunding customers (ha!), friends to the north, consider yourselves warned: best remove all payment options and delete the McDonald’s app from your phone.

And in other news…

• A comprehensive, food-by-food look at how farmers are adapting to climate change across the country. [NYT]
• As part of the escalating fast-food breakfast wars, Dunkin’ has added two new scrambled egg bowls to its menu. [CNN]
• Also in recent menu addition news: Starbucks has debuted a mango-and-dragonfruit-flavored “Dragon Drink” as part of its new summer offerings. Expect to see this bright pink beverage everywhere on Instagram. [People]
• With plastic straws and plastic bags already on the outs, now attention is shifting to to-go coffee cups — and drink-centric chains like Starbucks and Dunkin’ have been racing to produce an alternative to the ubiquitous plastic-lined, double-walled, plastic-lidded paper cup. [Bloomberg]
• Just like how Uber customers can track their drivers on the app, Domino’s is piloting GPS tracking of drivers so you can keep tabs on where your pizza delivery is at any given moment. [NRN]
• #WomenEatingFood, a new hashtag, showcases photos of women enjoying food “without explaining or justifying what/why they’re eating.” [The Takeout]
• A deep dive into why restaurants don’t unionize. [The New Food Economy]
• Everyone is mad at Chase bank for tweeting (and then deleting) that customers should stop splurging on coffee, food, and cabs if they want to save money. All brands should be banned from Twitter.

• All AM Intel Coverage [E]

Everything you need to know about the restaurant, chef, and media awards

The James Beard Foundation Awards are among the highest honors in the American food world.

Semifinalists (aka the “long list”) for restaurant and chef awards were announced on Wednesday, February 27. Finalists in restaurant, chef, and media categories were announced on March 27. The James Beard Awards Gala, where the recipients of America’s Classics awards are also acknowledged, will be take place in Chicago on Monday, May 6.

Winners in the book, television, and journalism categories were announced at the James Beard Media Awards dinner in New York City on Friday, April 26.