Nationwide Alert Issued SNAP Benefits Scam Targets Millions of Americans

Fraud is on the rise throughout the United States, but the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has been the most targeted recently. Its recipients in several states are some of the country’s most needy citizens, and many are unfortunately falling victim to these frauds, losing hundreds of dollars in benefits.

Reports of SNAP benefit scams have been made public around the country, including a recent case in Ohio when one recipient, Jason Nichols, learned that his electronic benefit card (EBT) had been cloned and used in many states. Nichols told WHIOTV that he lost $291 in food assistance after scammers used his benefits in Illinois retailers.

Because SNAP benefits are handled via an EBT card, which acts similarly to a debit card, EBT cards are vulnerable to a variety of scams, including cloning, phishing, and skimming. Each month, these cards are loaded with monies that may be used at participating stores across the country, providing an infinite number of possibilities for crooks to scam them and use them before their beneficiaries discover them.

Ohio officials have recently warned SNAP beneficiaries of a dramatic spike in fraud. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services emphasized this issue in a March statement: “Criminals are increasingly using a practice known as skimming to steal account numbers. This entails placing a device over a point-of-sale card reader and copying payment card information. According to a FICO credit score study, card skimming increased by 368 percent between 2021 and 2022.

But the problem isn’t limited to Ohio. According to data from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), there were over 177,000 cases of fraud across several states in the first quarter of 2024. The most impacted state was New York, which recorded 34,306 occurrences of benefit fraud during this period. Other states, including Illinois, Maryland, and Texas, have reported a significant incidence of EBT scams.

Fortunately, in certain situations, robbers are apprehended and prosecuted by police. In a high-profile instance earlier this year, two people were accused of exploiting a New York bodega to facilitate more than $20 million in EBT fraud. Furthermore, in March 2024, six persons were arrested in Texas for their involvement in food stamp fraud worth tens of thousands of dollars.

And authorities have not stopped with prosecution; in response to this pervasive problem, many legislative measures have been introduced in New York to prevent SNAP fraud. These include making SNAP fraud a class D felony and conducting a study to determine the frequency of food stamp theft in the state. Brooklyn Representative Iwen Chu underscored the gravity of the situation, calling SNAP benefit fraud “a critical issue” that has “victimized countless individuals and families” and depleted “substantial state resources.”

Chu also underlined the significance of the anticipated study on SNAP fraud. “This is why the study on SNAP fraud is so vital; it will help us uncover the core reasons, identify prevalent fraudster strategies, and advise us in developing effective remedies. The state must take swift action to uncover how these benefits are being plundered. This is an important first step toward protecting low-income New Yorkers who rely on this help for food and other necessities.”

Steps you may take to avoid SNAP fraud

For SNAP recipients wishing to protect themselves from fraud, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services provides several tips.

• Make a unique and difficult-to-guess PIN for your EBT card.
• Change your PIN every month, before each planned deposit.
• Never reveal your card number or PIN. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services will never request these numbers.
• Examine point-of-sale card readers thoroughly before utilizing them to detect skimming devices.
• When entering your PIN, cover the keypad with your body or hand so that others cannot see it.