Restaurant Scammed with Large Food Order in Soran, Donates Meals to Those in Need
$750 no-show
Restaurant in Soran turns scam order into community meal drive
SORAN — A well-known restaurant in the Soran autonomous administration in Erbil received a massive order for kebabs and grilled meat, only to discover it was a scam. Instead of letting the food go to waste, the restaurant owner distributed the meals to low-income families.
Surdash Mam Darwish, owner of Mam Darwish Restaurant, recounted the incident to 964media. “The man who called spoke in a way that made him sound trustworthy. He introduced himself, so I had no reason to suspect anything. He had even placed a similar order before, and we never had any problems,” Darwish said.
According to Darwish, the caller ordered 125 portions of kebabs and grilled meat, totaling 1,130,000 Iraqi dinars (about $750). Darwish was instructed to call back when the food was ready for pickup, but after several attempts, the phone was switched off.
“When I realized it was a scam, we distributed all the food to poor families in Soran,” Darwish said. He noted that this was not the first time such a tactic had been used. “Today, several other restaurants in Erbil, Shaqlawa, and Khalifan also contacted me, saying they had been tricked in the same way.”
Darwish believes such scams are becoming more common and urged authorities to investigate. “Security agencies are aware of these incidents,” he added.
