Accidental Sharing of Restaurant QR Code Leaves Chinese Woman Stunned with a Whopping 60,000 Bill

A Chinese woman was left stunned after she received a bill of $60,000 for food she did not order at a hotpot restaurant. The incident occurred because of a QR code on the table that allowed customers to order food using their smartphones. The woman, whose surname is Wang, unknowingly shared a photo of her meal on social media, which inadvertently included the QR code. Online users scanned the code and started placing massive orders, leading to the astronomical bill.

According to the South China Morning Post, Ms. Wang immediately deleted her post, but people continued to make new orders at her table. She suspected that someone had downloaded her photo and was using the QR code to place orders. A screenshot of the orders Ms. Wang later posted online revealed that people had ordered 1,850 portions of fresh duck blood, 2,580 portions of squid, and 9,990 portions of shrimp paste, each priced at a few dozen yuan.

The restaurant did not make Ms. Wang pay the bill and relocated her to a different table, ignoring all the new orders made through the code. The management explained that they were unable to track down the individuals who placed the orders or prevent others from doing so.

Taking the incident as a lesson, Ms. Wang emphasized the importance of information security when sharing food photos. She advised people to blur or cover up QR codes in their pictures to prevent unauthorized use for ordering food.

This incident serves as a reminder of the potential risks associated with sharing personal information online and the need to be cautious when posting pictures containing sensitive details.