A rising percentage of low-income households have reported benefits from SNAP being stolen. Legislation to replace electronically pilfered SNAP benefits has been passed by federal and state legislators; however, there is no legal requirement to reimburse all pilfered benefits exceeding a specific threshold.
In line with U.S. Federal funds may be used to replace the Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (SNAP) benefits that were electronically stolen between October 1, 2022, and September 30, 2024. Reimbursement is only available for SNAP benefits that were obtained through card skimming, cloning, and phishing schemes.
However, as per federal guidelines, a household’s replacement of lost benefits cannot surpass the sum of two months’ worth of the monthly allotment. Applications for reimbursement have deadlines as well.
States may, however, enact legislation to close gaps by combining federal and state funding, according to The Baltimore Banner.
Maryland passed a law requiring full reimbursement; however, data from the Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS) shared with The Banner indicates that many victims only received a portion of the amount stolen, with $12.2 million in verified stolen property compared to $11.7 million in reimbursed. Despite having passed legislation in favor of full reimbursement without deadlines or caps, public records and interviews with advocates and welfare recipients indicate the DHS is probably giving federal reimbursement requirements priority.
Ashley Burnside, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Law and Social Policy, told The Banner of the DHS’s interpretation of state law, “Unfortunately, it doesn’t surprise me a ton.” “States are ultimately reluctant to spend their own money when there is a chance to use federal dollars.”
After distributing surveys to SNAP agencies in all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C., Scripps News reporters discovered that at least 106,000 cases of food stamp theft occurred in 46 states, totaling more than $70 million.
SNAP Benefit Theft Surges Across Multiple States: Tactics to Thwart Card Skimmers Revealed
Increased electronic theft of SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, has been alerted to the public by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state SNAP agencies. Electronic SNAP benefits can be used to buy food, just like cash. Seniors, people with disabilities, low-income workers, and others can feed their families with the assistance of SNAP. The size, income, and other characteristics of a household determine SNAP benefits. Incentives for purchasing locally grown produce are also provided by SNAP, along with free opportunities for education and training and free resources and classes on nutrition.
The USDA claims that fraudsters obtain SNAP EBT card information through phishing and card skimming. Card skimming schemes make use of a device that copies credit card, debit card, and EBT information from a store’s card-swiping machine. With the use of this data, fraudulent cards, or clones, could be created to steal money from SNAP accounts. Phishing is a scam in which con artists deceive you into providing them with personal information via email or text message.
According to a 2022 FICO report, card skimming increased by 759% in comparison to the previous year, mostly at gas stations.
Dr. Steve Beaty, an MSU Denver computer science professor with expertise in cybersecurity, told 9News that con artists obtain card information gathered by the skimmer through Bluetooth connections, which they subsequently resell on the dark web.
Congress enacted legislation in December 2022 authorizing the use of federal funds to replace SNAP benefits that were fraudulently obtained between October 1, 2022, and September 30, 2024. However, states may need some time to look into the incident and approve the replacement of SNAP benefits due to the increase in SNAP fraud.
In less than five minutes, over $700 in SNAP benefits were stolen from the Denver mother of three, Penny Privitera. Although Denver Human Services is investigating Privitera’s case, the agency stated in an email that she provided to 9News that the state may need up to six weeks to complete its investigation. If accepted, the benefits could not be reinstated for a few more weeks.
13 Action News revealed that over $900 in SNAP benefits was pilfered from a resident of Ohio’s Lucas County. On her SNAP account, she discovered five transactions from out-of-state addresses. She was informed of the steps she needed to take in order to receive her money back when she called to inquire about what had happened.
“If you plan to use a card scanner when you enter the store, according to Michael Pidsosny, the community outreach liaison for Lucas County Job and Family Services, “it’s always a good idea to just shake it, because those apparatuses are just put on like a placeholder face mask, and they will fall off really easily,” 13 Action News reported.
In addition, Pidsosny advises locking your EBT card when not in use and utilizing the Connect EBT app. You can unlock your card at the register, finish the transaction, and then lock it once more.
That will prevent any person’s benefits from being taken, according to Pidsosny.
According to officials, you should report any theft of your benefits within ninety days so that the matter can be looked into.
