Residents of New Bern, N.C., were not loving visiting their local McDonald’s restaurant recently after a rather crafty individual decided it would be fun to hack the drive-through ordering machine.

Traditionally drive-through customers are greeted by a standard message when they have finished placing the order. But last Sunday the people visiting the drive-thru instead heard what has been described as an “unusual voice” making rather unexpected statements.

In one case the voice was heard as saying:

“You know I’m actually on the toilet right now and I’m just going to serve you your food. I’m not even going to wash my hands. I’m trying to get some special sauce out right now. You know what just pull forward because I’m going to give you whatever the f— I feel like giving you.”

According to Techworm, a video was posted on Facebook and YouTube, prompting other local McDonald’s customers to come forward to claim that they had a similar experience.

How the hack took place isn’t clear. The most likely explanation is that someone managed to hijack the McDonald’s speaker system’s radio frequency.

The speaker system in the video appeared to be an older model. Even newer models provided by the likes of 3M and HME don’t mention any security. But they apparently use digital frequencies, making it likely that this was a simple case of someone coming over the top of the frequency used.

The technique was most recently used in Melbourne, Australia, where an airport frequency was hijacked, potentially causing a far more dangerous situation than simply missing out on fries with your Big Mac.

McDonald’s franchise owner Bill Purcell told local media that he has approached the New Bern Police Department to investigate the hack, in addition to help from McDonald’s head office. “We are investigating this matter with the help of the New Bern Police Department. In addition, we are taking steps to prevent this isolated incident from happening again,” he said. “As local owners, our biggest priority is our customers and community and we want to ensure that every experience at our restaurant is a positive one.”

Image credit: Tim Malone/Wikimedia Commons/CC 2.5