Food Stamps: SNAP Benefit Theft Across Multiple States Intensifies — Use This Trick To Make Card Skimmers ‘Fall Off Really Easily’
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Josephine Nesbit
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture and state SNAP agencies have warned the public of increased electronic theft of SNAP benefits, formerly called food stamps.
According to the USDA, scammers use card skimming and phishing tactics to obtain SNAP EBT card information. Card skimming schemes use a device on a store’s card-swiping machine to copy EBT, debit and credit card information. This information can be used to make fake cards, or clones, to steal money from SNAP accounts. Phishing is another type of scam where fraudsters use email or text messages to trick you into giving them personal information.
A 2022 FICO report found that there was a 759% year-over-year increase in card skimming, primarily at gas stations.
Dr. Steve Beaty, a professor of computer science at MSU Denver who specializes in cybersecurity, explained to 9News that scammers use Bluetooth connection to download the card information collected by the skimmer and then sell it on the dark web.
In Dec. 2022, Congress passed a law to use federal funds to replace SNAP benefits that were electronically stolen between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2024. However, because of the surge in SNAP fraud, it can take time for states to investigate the incident and approve the replacement of SNAP benefits.
Penny Privitera, a Denver mother of three, had over $700 in SNAP benefits stolen within five minutes. Denver Human Services is looking into Privitera’s case, but in an email she shared with 9News, the agency said it could take the state up to 6 weeks to investigate. If approved, it could take another couple of weeks to reinstate the benefits.
An Ohio Lucas County resident had over $900 in SNAP benefits stolen, 13 Action News reported. She noticed five transactions on her SNAP account from out-of-state locations. When she called to find out what happened, she was told the precautions she needed to take to get her money back.
“If you’re going into the store and utilizing a card scanner. It’s always good measure to just shake it, because those apparatuses are just put on like a placeholder a face mask, and they will fall off really easily,” Michael Pidsosny, the community outreach liaison for Lucas County Job and Family Services, said to 13 Action News.
Pidsosny also recommends using the Connect EBT app and locking your EBT card when not using it. When you’re at the register, you can unlock your card to complete the transaction and then lock the card again.
“That will protect anybody’s benefits from being stolen,” Pidsosny said.
If your benefits are stolen, officials say you should report it within 90 days so that it can be investigated.
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