Food digging: When restaurants use fake dating profiles to get customers through the door

‘Food digging’ is the deceptive practice of creating fake profiles on dating apps to drive consumption in restaurants. — AFP Relaxnews

After using fake reviews to harm competitors’ reputations, unscrupulous restaurant owners are now reportedly using dating apps to lure in customers in a trick that’s been dubbed “food digging”. The idea is to organise a “date” with a victim who then gets stood up but inevitably ends up buying something at the restaurant anyway.

The big night is finally here! You’re going to meet that guy you’ve been chatting to on your go-to dating app. After a few days of messaging, you’ve both decided to take the plunge and leave digital communication behind in favour of a real-world rendezvous. And your date has taken the lead in choosing the restaurant for this first meeting...