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Pune woman claims restaurant staff got her number through QR menu, sent late-night texts: 'Serious harassment'
The woman shared her experience on Instagram, claiming the incident took place after she visited a restaurant on Pune’s FC Road on April 28.
A Pune woman has alleged that she received late-night messages from a staff member of a restaurant she had visited earlier that day, sparking concerns online over customer data privacy and misuse of personal information collected through QR-code-based systems.
Taking to Instagram, Rishika Dutta shared her experience, claiming the incident took place after she visited a restaurant on Pune’s FC Road on April 28. She alleged that she began receiving messages from an unknown number later that night.
As she tried to find out who was texting her, she discovered that the sender was an employee at the restaurant she had visited. Dutta claimed the man may have accessed her contact details after she scanned the outlet’s menu QR code during her visit. She also shared screenshots of the alleged conversation, in which the man asked to be “friends” and enquired about her age.
Disturbed by the messages, Dutta said she immediately contacted the restaurant and demanded action. She said that the restaurant informed her that the employee had been terminated from all branches, but refused to share a termination letter as proof. She also claimed she asked for an apology, which she had not received at the time of posting the video on May 12.
“Got a late-night text from a number I didn’t recognise — turns out visiting a certain spot on FC Road came with more than just a good time. Your data shouldn’t follow you home. Stay aware!!” she wrote in the caption of the Instagram video.
HT.com has reached out to Rishika Dutta. The article will be updated once a response is received.
Restaurant reacts
Responding to the allegations in the comments section, the restaurant said, “Hi Rishika, thank you for speaking up and bringing this to our attention. We’re truly sorry for what happened at FC Road SOCIAL. This should never have happened, and we completely understand why it felt uncomfortable.”
The restaurant further said it had taken “immediate action” and terminated the concerned employee on April 29, a day after the alleged incident. “Guest safety and privacy are extremely important to us, and we are strengthening our internal processes to make sure something like this never happens again,” it added.
Social media reactions
Meanwhile, the video quickly went viral and triggered a wave of reactions online. While some praised the woman for speaking up, others shared similar concerns around digital privacy.
“Proud of you. So many women go through this kind of harassment, but very few have the courage to speak up and help protect others. Thank you for sharing your story,” one user wrote.
“Digital privacy has become a joke. If you protect yourself and raise your voice, it’s not heard and then comes the retaliation if you bring such issues to the fore. Reputed outlets are supposed to have better customer protection guidelines,” commented another.
“Straight up litigate the restaurant & file a police complaint against that guy who stalked you,” wrote a third user. “I have stopped eating at restaurants that don't have a paper menu. This obsession with digitisation needs to be resisted,” added another.
“Yes, this is becoming very common, and I really suggest it to all the girls out there. Some people feel it is okay to take calls and pay bills. But this QR can get a lot of information. Even giving a number out loud in common places is very risky. Especially at these parties where we get our contacts in the guest list, you will find a lot of creepy people waiting for such opportunities. So better be safe and try to share your number of your guy's, friend or your partner's number,” wrote one user.
