Denise Huspaska was surprised to learn that approximately 1,500 points from her Giant Eagle advantage card had been used to purchase $30.49 worth of fuel at a gas station in Peters Township.
She hadn’t been there on Feb. 17 as an alert stated.
Unsure how someone gained access to her account Huspaska, who lives in Cleveland, called Peters Township Police to report the fraudulent activity.
Security footage revealed the purchase was made by 18-year-old Paul Kostanich, of McMurray, who is now facing felony charges for stealing over $677 worth of Pennsylvania and Ohio residents’ Fuel Perks points, according to an affidavit.
From Jan. 5 to Feb. 15, Kostanich made a series of purchases using the victim’s names, passwords and phone numbers, police said. He was charged with 19 counts of access device fraud, 19 counts of identity theft, 19 counts of receiving stolen property and one count of theft by unlawful taking, said court documents.
GetGo’s security footage revealed that on Feb. 15, Kostanich pulled a white Toyota Highlander, registered in his mother’s name, up to a gas pump, according to police. He then used a barcode scanner on his phone to access the points and paid the remaining balance of 9 cents with a debit card.
On Feb. 20, officials confiscated Kostanich’s phone which they said contained several screen recordings of Kostanich accessing people’s accounts and making the fraudulent purchases. He was interviewed by police two days later, and confessed to 10 to 20 fraudulent transactions, police said. Kostanich explained how he obtained the 19 victims’ personal information using social media and suspicious internet, according to the affidavit.
Kostanich awaits a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 21.
