Glovo and Chowdeck Vendor Checks Let Fake Stores Sell

In Short

A new investigation shows weak vendor verification on two food delivery platforms in Nigeria. A fake restaurant was able to sign up, complete onboarding, and make a sale.

What Happened

Glovo and Chowdeck are being questioned after an investigation found it was possible to impersonate a restaurant and sell food on both platforms.

The test followed a public complaint from a Lagos food vendor who said multiple stores on Glovo were impersonating her business using images from her social media pages.

Investigators set up a fake restaurant profile and submitted details that should normally be checked. They used a made-up tax ID, a false address, and photos taken from a real Lagos restaurant. Despite this, the fake store was approved.

On Glovo, the onboarding flow asked for a business name, location, tax ID, and banking details. The investigators reported that the interface suggested real addresses linked to the restaurant name, but they could override the address and enter a different location.

Over the next few weeks, the fake vendor reportedly progressed through the normal steps. That included receiving a device, completing onboarding training (basic how-to guidance for using the platform), and then making at least one sale.

This raises questions about how these platforms confirm that a restaurant is real and authorised to trade under a brand name. It also points to gaps in know your business checks, which are business identity checks similar to KYC (know your customer) used in financial services.

Why It Matters

Food delivery marketplaces depend on trust between customers, restaurants, and riders. If impersonation is easy, customers can be misled about where food is coming from. Legitimate restaurants can also face reputational damage and customer complaints for orders they never fulfilled.

For platforms like Glovo and Chowdeck, weak vendor verification can become a fraud risk and a safety risk. It can also create regulatory attention, especially if tax IDs and business records are being accepted without strong validation.

Operators in Nigeria’s food delivery sector may need tighter onboarding checks, clearer brand protection processes, and faster takedowns. That could include validating tax IDs against official databases, requiring proof of location, and confirming ownership of a business name before activation.