Walmart Is Paying Some Delivery Drivers to Verify Their Identities. Here's Why. Some Spark delivery drivers have been asked to bring their driver's license to a nearby Walmart store.
By David James
Walmart has started a new program to verify delivery drivers' identities — and is paying them to do it.
Business Insider reports that some gig workers for Spark, an app used by independent contractors to deliver orders or shop for businesses, received a message asking them to bring their driver's license to a Walmart store and offered a one-time $15 payment for doing so. "All drivers in your area will need to complete an in-person identity verification," said the message, in part.
Related: Walmart Store Managers Can Now Make Up to $620000 a Year
Retail reporter Alex Bitter writes that this in-person ID check "appears to be Walmart's latest effort to deter people who are using Spark under identities other than their own."
"We're always looking at new and innovative security technology," a Walmart spokesperson told BI. "This is a pilot we are testing in certain markets, and we will evaluate the results before making any longer-term decisions."
Identity fraud has been a problem for many delivery apps. Walmart reported a Spark hacker attack earlier this year that accessed 200 accounts.
A reporter in Jacksonville, Florida was one of the victims of the January hack — he found a fraudulent $528.04 charge on his account, per Action News Jax.
