In a surprising incident, a woman in China faced an enormous $60,000 restaurant bill, all due to a photo she shared on social media.
According to South China Morning Post, this unusual story unfolded when Wang, the woman, visited a hotpot restaurant with friends and shared a picture of her meal on WeChat.
Accidental QR Code Capture
Unbeknownst to Wang, the photo she posted included the restaurant's QR code for online ordering. This led to a series of unexpected events. Her WeChat contacts, seeing the QR code in her restricted-view photo, began scanning it and placing orders.
The situation came to light when restaurant staff approached Wang to confirm an order worth 430,000 yuan. It was then that she realized the QR code in her photo had been used by others to order food.
In China, many restaurants use a scan-to-order system, where customers scan a QR code to view the menu, order, and pay. This system was at the heart of the mix-up.
Despite Wang quickly deleting the photo, orders continued to flood in using the same QR code. The total included '1,850 portions of fresh duck blood, 2,580 portions of squid, and 9,990 portions of shrimp paste.'
The restaurant, realizing the mistake was accidental, cancelled all the orders and moved Wang to a new table. They did not charge her for the massive bill. However, they reported still receiving orders from the QR code, unable to track the individuals placing them.
