28-03-2025
Giant Eagle begins notifying rewards members after man hacks into several accounts, steals fuel perks
Giant Eagle Fuel Perks shoppers are keeping a closer eye on their rewards after Peters Township Police said a man hacked into at least 19 accounts to steal gas.
A woman from Cleveland, Ohio, first notified police in February after noticing her perks were missing.
"She was notified that her GetGo points/advantage card was fraudulently used at the GetGo gas station in Peters Township to purchase gasoline. (The victim) advised that she was unsure how someone obtained her advantage card, but the suspect used approximately 1,500 points valued at approximately $30," an officer with Peters Township police wrote in his report.
Police said during their investigation, video footage from the gas station showed 18-year-old Paul Kostanich at the gas station on the day of the fraudulent activity.
"(Kostanich) then pulls his cell phone out of his pants pocket and places it in front of the bar code scanner at the gas station to activate the points," police said.
Police said Giant Eagle Loss Prevention linked Kostanich's credit card to numerous other fraudulent transactions involving several other victims.
"Giant Eagle Loss Prevention explained the male involved has been responding to the same GetGo location almost daily and using multiple different individuals' Giant Eagle Advantage Cards to fraudulently purchase fuel," police said.
"I could never imagine someone hacking a Giant Eagle perks card. I mean, really! But this day and age… anything is possible," Linus Mayernik said, a fuel perks customer and Washington County resident.
"I
use them all the time. I just now looked at my receipt to see how many I had because you know it helps save on gas, and I appreciate that," Kathy Nicholson said, another perks customer.
Some customers told KDKA-TV on Friday they're not surprised to hear about the incident but upset knowing someone would take their perks.
"I'm 67 years old. Technology for me, I can't, sometimes I can't even remember a password, and these kids and what they're doing, I think it's a God-awful shame that they can take advantage of that system," Mayernik said. "It's for the everyday working man, you know what I mean? They're going after it. It's a shame."
Police said during an interview with Kostanich, he confessed to hacking up to 20 victims' accounts by using suspicious internet and social media platforms in order to steal their perks.
"It's going to make me pause, yeah! It's definitely going to pay attention," Nicholson said.
"To all these youngsters who want to take advantage of the system, just stop it, man. Go get a job. Be a citizen in this community," Mayernik said.
Giant Eagle said there is no evidence that the incident is tied to any type of data breach.
"All customers who were potentially impacted by the actions of this individual have been contacted by Giant Eagle to make sure their Perks were restored," a Giant Eagle spokesperson said.
"We appreciate the value Giant Eagle customers realize through our myPerks loyalty program and understand the importance of protecting the perks in one's account. We encourage all customers to take steps to secure information associated with any retailer loyalty cards they may have, including their Giant Eagle loyalty card. These steps include monitoring your rewards balances closely, which Giant Eagle customers can do easily by downloading the Giant Eagle mobile app, frequently updating your accounts with new, strong passwords, and ensuring that the same password is not used across multiple customer accounts.
At Giant Eagle, we take account security extremely seriously and take steps to protect our customers' myPerks rewards. If a customer has questions regarding their rewards, they should reach out to the Giant Eagle Customer Care team for assistance with their account."
Kostanich now faces 58 charges, including identity theft, accessing a device issued to another who did not authorize use, and receiving stolen property.
