Throughout late February and March, a stretch of homes in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Highland Park was bestowed with dozens of UberEats orders left on residents' doorsteps.
However, the recipients hadn't ordered the food, per the Los Angeles Times. What started as a funny, free food surprise or an assumed simple mistake quickly turned into annoyance as the orders piled up (with some recipients receiving upwards of 30 orders over the course of several weeks).
After the outlet ran its piece on the delivery mystery in mid-March, the orders seemed to have stopped — but in early May, a Highland Park resident told the paper that the unwanted orders have returned.
The orders, which are mostly from McDonald's and Starbucks, use other people's names and are entirely paid for — often including tips for drivers. The orders are as simplistic as they are perplexing and bizarre — one recipient received three deliveries all with a single order of McDonald's fries, and another received four McGriddles in one order. Others simply received bottles of water and cartons of milk.
"We one got three different orders within five minutes," Highland Park resident William Neil told CBS. "Two from the same driver."
Related: Uber Is About to Send a Cartoon-Like Robot to Your Front Door
The unwanted orders have sparked a myriad of theories from residents, including the work of a burglary ring attempting to probe homes as potential robbery targets, the work of a psychology experiment from a nearby college, or criminals testing stolen credit cards for validity, according to the outlet.
However, the mystery remains unsolved, and in the meantime, residents have coped in a variety of ways — from posting signs on the door not to leave deliveries to donating the unsolicited hauls of food.
"Nothing really harmful is happening to these people, but it is beyond annoying and somewhat disturbing," LA-based writer, Lisa Morton, told the outlet.
Entrepreneur has reached out to Uber for comment.
Related: Elon Musk Donated $5.7 Billion to a Mystery Recipient
Before you consider McDonald's, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and McDonald's wasn't on the list.
While McDonald's currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Unlock your free copy of MarketBeat's comprehensive guide to pot stock investing and discover which cannabis companies are poised for growth. Plus, you'll get exclusive access to our daily newsletter with expert stock recommendations from Wall Street's top analysts.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.