Polish authorities have moved to curb a wave of malicious food-delivery pranks that have terrorised residents and disrupted restaurants across several cities. The Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime (CBZC), working under the District Prosecutor's Office in Szczecin, has detained a 23-year-old man suspected of orchestrating the scheme.
The suspect is accused of placing bogus orders for hundreds of meals—including a single order of 300 pizzas worth over 37,000 zlotys (approximately €8,570)—to be delivered to unsuspecting individuals. The orders were placed with payment on delivery, leaving restaurants with substantial losses and recipients with unexpected, often threatening, visits.
According to the CBZC, the man faces charges of stalking, identity fraud, and causing significant financial harm. He has been remanded in custody for two months. If convicted, he could spend up to eight years in prison.
Threats and identity misuse
The investigation revealed that the orders often contained detailed personal information about the intended recipients—details that only the victims or their closest acquaintances would know. This, authorities say, made the victims feel threatened and tormented, and constituted a serious invasion of privacy.
Some delivery notes included explicit threats, such as references to abducting a minor, setting fire to a notary's office, and causing a road accident. The suspect also used the names of well-known politicians and media figures as recipients, further escalating the harassment.
The deliveries were primarily targeted at addresses in Szczecin, but similar incidents were recorded in Wrocław, Kraków, and Warsaw, where more than a dozen cases were logged. In many instances, the named recipients were not informed that orders had been placed in their name.
Not all orders were fulfilled. Some restaurants refused to accept them for technical reasons, particularly when the sheer volume of meals made preparation impossible—as was the case with the 300-pizza order.
The suspect was detained at his home following a joint operation by the CBZC and the Investigative Department of the Municipal Police Headquarters in Szczecin.
This case highlights a growing challenge for European law enforcement as digital anonymity enables new forms of harassment. Similar concerns have emerged elsewhere, such as the use of drones to smuggle contraband into prisons in France, a problem that has forced the closure of a hospital heliport in Strasbourg. While the methods differ, both cases underscore the need for robust cybercrime responses across the continent.
The Polish prosecutor's office has not yet announced a trial date, but the case is being closely watched as a test of how far authorities can go in prosecuting online harassment that spills into the physical world.
