Recently, the incidents of Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card theft have surged, with reports of an increasing number of residents having their food stamp cards stolen. Councilwoman Sandra Ung recently stated that her office has received more complaints from residents about their EBT cards being stolen. The common issue among those who have fallen victim to EBT card theft is that they either fail to lock their cards or forget to re-lock them after unlocking. Individuals who promptly lock their EBT cards have managed to keep their funds secure.
On January 15th, Mr. Sun from Bayside showed evidence of his food stamp card being stolen. His monthly food stamp benefits of $298 were deposited into his account on the 6th of this month at midnight. Only two hours later, between 2:36 and 2:38 am, in a span of just two minutes, his funds were fraudulently swiped in four transactions.
Mr. Sun mentioned, “I didn’t lock my card. Over a month ago, I had over $600 in my account (as it could accumulate), which was also stolen.”
Furthermore, individuals who forget to re-lock their EBT cards after unlocking them are also at risk of falling prey to theft. Mr. Sun shared the story of a friend who, despite locking their card, forgot to re-lock it after unlocking it once to make a purchase, resulting in immediate theft.
A woman named Ms. Zheng, who had her food stamp card stolen multiple times, stated that after the theft incidents, she applied for a new card. She now ensures to lock her card after each use, unlocking it only when needed. After utilizing her EBT card, she immediately locks it again. By disabling out-of-state and online transactions on the EBT website (https://tinyurl.com/ncuv9cj2), Ms. Zheng has not experienced any further theft incidents since August last year, proving the effectiveness of locking the card.
Councilwoman Sandra Ung urges individuals with EBT cards to promptly download the EBT anti-theft app (EBT Edge) on their mobile phones, create an online account, learn how to lock and unlock their cards, and disable cross-state transaction functions to mitigate the risk of theft.
She also mentioned that residents who need assistance in setting up an EBT Edge account or learning how to lock their cards can contact her office at 718-888-8747 or via email at [email protected].