Bronx mother says $700 was stolen from her EBT card

Rachel Sheldon said she is a victim of EBT theft after missing $700 in funds.

Sheldon said she shopped for groceries at Western Beef in Soundview on Oct. 2.

Soon after, she said she checked her account balance to find it practically empty.

Records show Shelton lost $700 to scammers across the boroughs and as far as Michigan.

“Somewhere down the line, my information got taken and used,” she said. “I don’t want to sit here and blame, it just looks very suspicious.”

Sheldon said called the city’s Housing Resources Administration, or HRA, to report the theft.

According to the HRA’s website, “As of September 30, 2025, New York State has stopped accepting all benefit replacement claims for SNAP.”

News 12 spoke with BronxWorks, a local nonprofit who works with vulnerable people in the Bronx communities.

“There are many ways you can secure your benefits account,” said Maria Mero, program coordinator for BronxWorks.

For those with EBT cards, Mero suggested not to share the account PIN. She said, make sure the account PIN is difficult to guess. She also said to change the account PIN often and check the EBT account balance.

“There’s ways where you can lock the card and just unlock it when you are about to purchase groceries, and then you can lock it back again,” said Mero.