The Corner Penthouse

Today's public service article is a rather personal one, but I feel that more people need to be made aware of the issue. I have now had my Nassau County (Long Island, New York) SNAP (aka Food Stamps) benefits stolen TWICE in one year - and I've never lost possession of my physical benefit card either time.

The first time was in June of 2023 when my "card" was used to make three purchases at Target stores in California; an hour after I legitimately used it at the Stop & Shop supermarket in Oceanside (New York). On January 5, 2024, my "card" was used again at another store that I've never been to in my life. This time the thievery was different.

The June 9, 2023 thievery was three purchases of varying amounts (presumably) using a cloned card at two Target stores in California. Specifically, the Target at 1833 S. La Cienega Blvd. in Los Angeles, where a $87.96 purchase was made at 18:04:32 Eastern (6:04 pm). The thieves then went to the Target at 6000 Sepulveda Blvd. in Culver City, where at 19:36:55 and 19:37:50 Eastern (7:36 pm) they made two additional purchases in the amounts of $27.95 and $6.99. By the time they were done, I was left with just $3 and change in my account.


On January 5, 2024, my ENTIRE $210 January benefit was taken at 03:08:49 (3:08 am Eastern) in ONE SINGLE TRANSACTION at the Day and Night Convenience store in Brooklyn, New York.


Google says the Day and Night Convenience II Corp. store is located at 186 Scholes Street, on the corner of Humboldt Street, which would be the store pictured below.


While it's possible that my card was skimmed again at one of the stores I shopped at in December - Aldi (Valley Stream), Stop & Shop (Oceanside), Dollar Tree (Oceanside), Dollar Tree (Lynbrook), Lidl (East Rockaway) - my belief is that Day and Night Convenience II Corp. is in on the theft. An owner, manager, or employee had to purposely input a false purchase into the register in order to take the entire whole dollar benefit amount. It is very rare that a purchase at *any* store would come out to an even dollar amount. The odds are even more astronomical that the even dollar amount would be MY ENTIRE BENEFIT AMOUNT TAKEN ON THE DAY THAT THE BENEFIT BECAME AVAILABLE FOR ME TO USE. The thieves had to either have known when and how much I would be getting, or were checking the balance every day starting on January 1st, since they knew that people get their benefits within the first week of the month. Also, I don't think that anyone legitimately spends over $200 on food at a convenience store.

I believe that the June theft was done through card skimming. I'm now sure that there was a device attached to the card reader at one of the stores I used my card at in May or June of 2023. I don't think this January theft was done the same way. After the June theft, I've checked every card reader at every store I've shopped at to feel for anything out of the ordinary, and I never spotted anything. I think the January theft was done through running card numbers and PINs sequentially.

Each card has a 19-digit number, but as I've seen from the two cards that were stolen, the first 16 digits are exactly the same. Only the last three digits are different. That only gives 1,000 card number possibilities, an easy number for a computer to run through. Furthermore, the only security on the card is a four-digit PIN. That's only 10,000 possibilities. Any modern computer could easily run through all of those possibilities in no time and come up with many "winning" combinations.

I've already taken all of the required steps. I canceled my card, reported it as stolen, and requested a new card. I submitted the paperwork (form LDSS-5215 PDF) to the Nassau County Department of Social Services (DSS) to get the replacement benefits, and I filed a police report with the Nassau County Police Department's Fifth Precinct. I hope that I'll get the new card and replacement benefits within the next two weeks, as I don't know how much money I will have left by the time I go food shopping again near the end of the month. I also hope that the Nassau County Police Department will coordinate with the NYPD to investigate this convenience store. Who knows how many other people's benefits have been stolen there.

It's absolutely shameful that these thieves are stealing from the poor, who rely on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) to help make ends meet when it comes to grocery shopping. Do they not remember the story of Robin Hood? They should be stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. I'm sharing my story so more people can be made aware that this kind of thievery is going on, and that it will entice the powers that be to make changes to the security of these cards. Namely, using modern technology, such as a chip in the card, tap the card, encrypting the card through Google/Apple Pay - or any combination of the three. Anything would be much more secure than magnetic strip technology from the 1960s and a four-digit PIN.

Ideally, Nassau County or New York state should give control of the cards to the MasterCard or VISA companies. Both companies have decades of experience and already use more modern technology.

[UPDATE - 1/13/2024]
Sometimes I think my life is a joke to the amusement of someone else.

On January 5th, I deactivated the card, reported it as stolen, and they sent me out a new one. I got the new one today, January 13th. I went through the phone system to activate it, only to find out that it was already deactivated! They printed the new card on the 8th (there's a "printed on" date on the card), and according to the customer service rep I just spoke to, they deactivated it on the 9th.  She said that there is no reason given as to why it was deactivated.

So now I have to wait to receive a SECOND new card, as well as wait for the replacement benefits to be added to my account.  I hope that I get both by the time I do food shopping near the end of the month.

[UPDATE - 6/17/2024]
Today I discovered that my SNAP benefits were stolen for a THRID time, on June 11th, nearly a year after they were first stolen! More details here.