Social Service Officials Highlight Common Scams And Urge Residents To Protect Their Information
by Jamil Ragland
TwitterFacebookLinkedInRedditEmailPrintSocial Services Commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves speaks to reporters and members of the public about the ongoing theft of funds from residents’ EBT cards at a news conference in Bridgeport on Friday, June 28, 2024. Credit: Screengrab / CT-N
Over the past two fiscal years, thieves have skimmed $2.72 million from the EBT cards used by clients of the Department of Social Services to pay for food and other necessities, DSS Commissioner Andrew Barton Reeves said Friday.
During a news conference early Friday morning in Bridgeport, Barton Reeves and Deputy Commissioner Shirley Skyers-Thomas warned Connecticut residents about organized attempts to steal their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, and they offered tips on how to protect themselves.
“It is absolutely unconscionable that criminals believe that it is appropriate to steal benefits from our constituents,” Barton Reeves said. “SNAP benefits are essential for families to live with the dignity that they deserve. These benefits are critical to their lives, and we are really working hard today and every day to educate people about how to secure their SNAP benefits.”
SNAP benefits, which are access through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, can be stolen in a number of ways. According to Barton Reeves, one of the primary ways that scammers steal benefits is by attaching a skimming device to card readers in stores. The skimmers capture the card number and PIN when customers use their EBT card.
She said the scammers then wait until the beginning of the month and then drain funds out of the accounts as soon as the benefits are deposited. In other cases, clients receive a text message suggesting that their card has been locked or stolen, and they are prompted to provide their card number and/or pin.
Barton Reeves said that the program had $132,000 stolen in 2023 fiscal year, it’s first year, followed by another $2.58 million stolen in FY 2024 – an 1800% increase.
To help people who have been the victims of EBT theft, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which allows state agencies to use federal funds to replace stolen benefits. The program will reimburse victims up to two times, for up to two months of stolen benefits. The program replaces benefits which were stolen during the current federal fiscal year, which ends September 30. DSS has called on Congress to extend the replacement program through at least January 2025.
At the news conference, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, announced that he is supporting the Fairness for Victims of SNAP Skimming Act, which would codify the ability for the federal government to reimburse stolen benefits.
“Thousands of people across Connecticut rely on SNAP to feed their families, but every day despicable bad actors are stealing millions of dollars in benefits for their own profit,” Blumenthal said. “We have an obligation to protect the most vulnerable among us who fall victim to these reprehensible schemes, and I am proud to cosponsor federal legislation to reimburse SNAP recipients whose benefits are stolen by these craven criminals.”
While federal authorities have made some progress in locating and prosecuting those who steal EBT benefits, state officials say the best way to deal with the problem is to take measures to prevent EBT theft in the first place.
“Scammers have no shame. Stealing SNAP benefits from families is reprehensible,” Skyers-Thomas said. “Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to catch scammers and hold them accountable. That’s why prevention is the best form of protection. Be sure to change your PIN number regularly, especially before and after a purchase and around the end of the month, and if a check-out card reader seems like it has been tampered with, don’t scan your card and report the machine to a manager.”
If you have been the victim of EBT theft, you can contact DSS at 1-888-328-2666.