Another insane Tik Tok fraud case hit New York City this month. This time it’s called the SYEP Method and very sadly, it targeted kids working for the New York Summer Youth Employment Program.
These are some of the poorest kids in the city.
The scheme closely follows the pattern of two other major fraud schemes in the last year – The Chase Glitch of August 2024, and the Fidelity Glitch a month later.
First reported by the New York Times, it’s estimate that the losses exceed $17 million.
A Three Day Fraud Frenzy For “Unlimited Loads Of Cash”
The scheme erupted between July 11th and 13th , when about 30,000 payment cards issued to young workers of the SYEP program became pawns in a massive fraud.
The cards were supposed to give access to weekly earnings of several hundred dollars. Instead, they opened what one ATM operator called “unlimited loads of cash” in amounts reaching $40,000 per machine.
The fraud began on a Friday the 11th. By that evening, companies that operate A.T.M.s in the city began to get reports that their machines were being plundered.
“Students or other people who had the card just started going to A.T.M.s and pulling out unlimited loads of cash, 10, 15, 20,000 dollars at a time,” said Youssef Mubarez, chief operating officer of ATM World Corp. He noted that because of withdrawal limits, the money was taken out $200 at a time.
He estimated that $400,000 was taken from his companies machines, including $43,000 from one ATM.
In one case, he said, the withdrawals went on for “an hour straight”, with the store owner unaware of what was happening!
“Flipping SYEP Cards” Kids Were Recruited Everywhere
The scam started when kids and young adults between 14 and 24 year were approached to sell the debit cards that held that SYEP paychecks for $1,000 a piece.
Most of the kids had never held jobs before or had any interaction with the banking system so they were ripe targets. In many cases, these kids were receiving their first paycheck ever.
Some of the kids were recruited through social media too. “We’re making bread, we’re printing money right now,” one man said in a TikTok video. “If you work S.Y.E.P., hit me up.”
The SYEP Program Serves Poor Kids And Minorities
According to the New York Times, this scam is particularly sad because of the people it serves.
“Those enrolled in the program are placed in various industries for six-week stints, with participants ages 16 to 24 paid the $16.50 minimum wage for up to 25 hours a week. Younger workers are paid less. About 70 community-based organizations operating under contracts with the city help place the young people in jobs.”
Participants with bank accounts are paid by direct deposit. Since 2003, those without bank accounts have received payment cards that can be taken to A.T.M.s to obtain their earnings in cash. Roughly 30,000 were set up to be paid by card this year, according to the youth department.
It Stopped As Fast As It Started
Evidently the program adminstrators acted fast to control the tsunami of fraud. By early Sunday the 13th of July, the youth program deactivated all of the cards and managed to halt the fraud attempts.
For kids that participated in the scheme, they may be shocked to find out that they are responsible for the millions that were looted.
“We are deeply disturbed by scammers preying on our participants just as they started their work assignments to support themselves and their families,” said Mark Zustovich, spokesman for the city’s Department of Youth and Community Development.
