The Secret Service has been sweeping through New York City to crack down on a scam that targets some of its most vulnerable residents, Eyewitness News reported. Agents went into Bronx bodegas and stores to hunt for devices used to skim EBT cards, the cards New Yorkers rely on to access SNAP food benefits.
Officials say the problem has become severe. According to the Secret Service, New York City has turned into a hotbed of EBT card skimming, with scammers going after people who depend on government assistance to buy groceries.
The push was organized as a focused enforcement effort. The agency led a three-day operation, alongside other law enforcement, aimed at protecting vulnerable communities, going business to business to check ATMs and point-of-sale terminals.
The numbers from the sweeps point to how widespread the devices are. In the latest operation, agents found 65 skimming devices over the three days, while the one before that had turned up 55.
The technology is designed to be hard to notice. As a customer inserts a credit or debit card, their information is captured and stored on the skimming device, and agents say some are overlays that can be physically removed, while they also look for point-of-sale machines that may have been compromised.
Investigators say the scheme reaches far beyond a single store. They describe the skimming as part of a transnational organized crime operation, and the Secret Service is sending a blunt warning to those behind it, saying it will be knocking on their door and holding them accountable.
For the businesses and their customers, the stakes are immediate. Owners were given a crash course on what to look out for, and longstanding local shops say SNAP benefits are a critical lifeline for their customers, with the enforcement helping to drive predators away.