JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Zheng family, owners of Wok House Jax, are speaking out after losing more than $60,000 when their DoorDash merchant account was hacked. They hope their story will help other small businesses avoid similar financial losses.
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Many of the restaurant’s orders come from food delivery apps, which makes this financial blow particularly challenging. “In July, we found out that our DoorDash merchant portal account was hacked,” Jennifer Zheng said. Speaking on behalf of her parents, who own the restaurant but are not fluent in English, Jennifer explained that hackers altered their account details, redirecting the earnings from March to the summer of 2023.
The family discovered the breach only after struggling to pay bills, despite receiving emails stating funds were being deposited. “[My dad] was like, ‘This is so hard to pay the workers or keep up with the inventory cost when we don’t have these profits coming into our bank account.‘” Jennifer shared.
She suspects a phishing email played a role, as they received an email appearing to be from DoorDash around the time the hack occurred. It requested account updates, which she believes opened the door for the fraud to occur.
The family contacted DoorDash and received a partial reimbursement of $3,806.72. However, they are pushing for full restitution of the lost funds. “It’s so hard to pay workers or keep up with inventory costs when we don’t have these profits coming into our bank account,” Jennifer added.
Cybersecurity expert Chris Hamer advises businesses to limit account access, use strong two-factor authentication, and avoid storing passwords in locations that are accessible to others. He also warns against verifying identities through unsolicited codes or links.
The Zheng family echoes this advice and encourages other business owners to monitor their accounts frequently. “Check your information weekly,” Kevin Zheng, Jennifer’s brother, recommended, stressing the importance of early detection.
News4JAX reached out to DoorDash, and a spokesperson said, “I will look into this and come back to you.”
The Zheng family hopes sharing their experience will alert others to the risks and encourage vigilance among small business owners relying on digital platforms.