JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two different people on Jacksonville’s Northside were surprised to learn skimmers drained their money from their electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards at different stores.
One skimmer was found at a gas station on Dunn Avenue.
Shannon Adams said his mother was a victim at that store.
“It’s like a funneling thing they get the money and funnel it to a store in Chicago,” Shannon said. Adams said his mother lost $500.
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Just a little over six miles away from that gas station, Laquanda Griffin said her card was skimmed at a different store by the same company.
“We got something to drink, grabbed a couple of bags of chips, and I checked out. I spent about $14.55.” Griffin said.
Griffin said a few hours passed and her mother tried to use her card to grab some groceries.
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“My mom is calling me, and I’m like, ‘Thank God. She’s calling me to tell me that she’s ordered the stiff,” Griffin said. “But she’s calling me to tell me it’s 78 cents on my card. And I’m like no.”
Griffin was confused to hear she only had 78 cents on her card when she was anticipating $522 to be available.
“I felt so many different things. Because now here it is. I’m looking at my child who was just in the store, picking up things that she wanted, and I had to leave them in the basket and walk out because somebody stole from us. I felt useless,” Griffin said.
Now Griffin is waiting for the Department of Children and Families to investigate before her funds are refunded.
The charges came from the same Chicago store.
New4JAX reached out to the stores for comment. We received the following statement from 7-Eleven Inc.:
“7-Eleven takes allegations involving card skimmers very seriously. 7-Eleven inspects card readers regularly and cooperates closely with law enforcement regarding related investigations. Customers who believe they may be impacted should call 1-800-255-0711.”