The Corner Penthouse

Just a few months ago, I wrote about how my Nassau County (Long Island, New York) SNAP (aka Food Stamps) benefits were stolen TWICE in one year, even though I had never lost possession of my physical benefit card either time. It saddens me to report that despite my best efforts, it happened again.

This third theft was a fraudulent purchase of $129.60 that was made on June 11, 2024 at 6:02am at the P&L Minimart at 304 N. Pulaski Road in Chicago, Illinois. I haven't been to Chicago since 1998! Interestingly, the transaction is listed with a red highlight on the EBT site, which makes me think that the system knows it's a fraudulent transaction; so why was it approved?!?


After the card information was stolen for the second time in January 2024, I have purposely only used the card in just two stores: Stop and Stop on Atlantic Ave. in Oceanside, and King Kullen in Valley Stream. The only time I used the card elsewhere was on the day I discovered the theft, June 17, 2024, at the CVS on Central Ave in Valley Stream.


That my card information was still stolen after taking these precautions, means either... (1) My card was skimmed by one of the card readers at either Stop and Shop or King Kullen. (2) The thieves sequentially ran the card numbers and PIN numbers through a computer and found the matching combination. From what I can tell, all Nassau County benefit card numbers are exactly the same except for the last three digits. The PIN is only four digits. That's 1,000 possible card numbers and 10,000 possible PINs. That's not a lot of combinations for a computer to run through. (3) It was an "inside job" and my information is constantly being stolen by someone working for DSS (Department of Social Services) or one of the companies they hire to handle the program. I really don't know how my information keeps getting stolen; I can only just speculate.

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. I hope that I'll get the new card and replacement benefits within the next two weeks, but I probably won't get the replacement benefits until mid-July.

Unfortunately, I can't avoid shopping at Stop and Shop or King Kullen because they are the only two supermarkets that I am able to go to. Thankfully, there may be a solution to this nightmare. As I just learned, when New York State took their system down for half a day on May 19th, it was because they changed EBT management services (aka the "EBT vendor"). Instead of the horrible ConnectEBT, NYS now uses ebtEdge. Mind you, the state never informed me of this change. Yes, I received an e-mail from NYS on May 8th that told me of the service disruption on May 19th, which in passing mentioned "changing over to a new EBT vendor", but it never stated who the new vendor would be, and more importantly, that the new vendor would offer security features that the old one did not.


I signed up for a ebtEdge account today (June 17th), and I immediately noticed that they offer three vital security features that ConnectEBT never offered: freeze/lock card, prevent out-of-state transactions, prevent internet transactions. That second one would have prevented this fraudulent Chicago mini-mart transaction. If I always keep my card frozen/locked, and only unlock it for the minute it takes to checkout at the store, that should prevent a fourth theft; even if my card information is skimmed again at Stop and Shop or King Kullen.

The e-mail seen above should have also stated, "The new EBT vendor, ebtEdge, offers security features that will let you freeze your card, as well as block out-of-state and internet transactions. Users are encouraged to sign up for an ebtEdge account and activate these security features through the ebtEdge website or app." Had it stated this, this third theft would have been prevented because I would have had these security features enabled since May 20th.

[UPDATE - 7/1/2024] I got the new card on June 22nd and the $129 replacement benefits on June 29th. I tested the card while frozen/locked, and as expected, the transaction was denied. With a few taps in the app, I unfroze/unlocked the card, the transaction went through, then I immediately locked the card back up. This is how I am going to have to use the card from now on in order to, hopefully, prevent a fourth theft.

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. The security features that ebtEdge offers are a great start - better than the nothing we had before - but more could be done to make the cards even more secure. 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.