I placed an order for food, not harassment
A woman who used her personal details to order pizza online was later sent creepy text messages asking “Do you live alone?” and “Are you single?”
Kaitlin Reakes, from Newport, said she received the texts after she went to an eatery on Saturday, July 30.
The 21-year-old admin assistant, who’d left her boyfriend Fraser in the car, went inside to order food and wanted to pay via Apple Pay on her mobile as she was without any cash or bank cards.
However, a member of staff told her that wouldn’t be possible and instead suggested she order and pay online via their website – which asks for a verified phone number as part of the process.
But, the next afternoon, she started receiving texts from an unrecognised source stating that her ‘new friend’ was calling and asking if she wanted to meet up.
So Kaitlin demanded to know how he got her details, replying, “Just tell me who you are or I’m not talking to you anymore – I’ve asked you three times now.”
The man then told her that he’d “found (her) number by chance,” before asking, “Boyfriend or married?”
At this point Fraser got involved and, pretending to be Kaitlin, continued the chat in order to find out who the person was and how he’d managed to get in touch.
After lying about having met Kaitlin “at the disco” the man eventually admitted to having been the “guy from the food place” and said she had entered “(her) number there”.
At that point Fraser went back to the eatery to confront the manager.
“His first response was that his staff would not have had access to my number so it couldn’t have been any of them,” said Kaitlin.
“But he then conceded that it could be possible and added that he would speak to everyone who was working that night and get back to us.
“He also apologised, but after supposedly ‘looking through his employees’ phones’ he claimed not to have found anything.”
Kaitlin, who’s reported the matter to the police, added that the whole experience had left her shaken.
“It’s made me feel like I can’t even do something as normal as ordering myself food in case I get harassed,” she said.
“I’m not trying to ruin anyone’s business but this was a complete misuse of data – I feel really vulnerable now.”
The manager of the eatery said that he had checked with his staff and none of their mobiles corresponded with a number which had contacted Kaitlin.
He also said it was possible the collection ticket, which had her name and phone number on it, could’ve fallen off her order outside the shop and been picked up by somebody passing by.
“I’ve always treated my customers like family – I would never put up with any of my staff doing such a thing,” he added.
A spokesperson for Gwent Police said: “We’ve received a report regarding an allegation of harassment and inquiries are ongoing.”