When Somerset County resident Floyd Houser recently checked the balance on his EBT card — a debit card that holds the food stamp benefits he uses to eat every month — he got a terrible surprise.
The roughly $190 worth of benefits that should have been on the card for the month of February were gone.
“I knew it wasn’t right,” he said, and reached out to his local County Assistance Office. A caseworker there told him the funds had been stolen by someone in Chicago.
Houser, 53, depends on SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, sometimes called food stamps, for his monthly grocery budget.
He’s now facing a lean February. A local food pantry was about to help a bit, he said.
“They gave me a little more stuff here, but that’s about it,” he said. “I’m eating canned food right now.”
Had the theft happened a few months ago, he would have been able to get those benefits reimbursed. But, because of a Continuing Resolution passed by Congress at the end of December, anyone whose SNAP benefits were stolen after December 21, 2024, can no longer have the funds restored.
Houser was the victim of what’s become a national problem: thieves use so-called “skimming” devices on point of sale machines to capture a person’s EBT card information and PIN number, then after the victim’s monthly benefits are deposited electronically, the fraudsters steal the SNAP recipient’s benefits.
Advocates say the problem is a multi-pronged one: outdated technology leaves SNAP users more susceptible to theft; organized criminals are stealing from people with the least amount to lose, hurting those individuals and putting strain on an already-stressed network of food banks; and a lack of action by Congress to help victims of SNAP theft.
More than two million Pennsylvanians use SNAP to purchase groceries every month; nationally, more than 40 million people are enrolled in the program.
The EBT cards used by SNAP recipients to purchase food generally are less secure and have fewer consumer protections than other debit and credit cards, said Ann Sanders, director of public benefits policy and programs at Pittsburgh-based anti-hunger group Just Harvest. EBT cards in most states do not have chips in them that make them more secure, the way most credit and debit cards do.
Her organization often hears from victims of SNAP benefits theft, Sanders said.
While the state can and should upgrade its EBT cards to be more secure, that would be a lengthy process, and Congress should act to reimburse theft victims in the meantime, Sanders said.
“The only recourse that people have now is to use a food pantry if their benefits are stolen,” she said. “There is no other way for them to get help, to make sure that they have food to feed their family besides the food bank,”
From October 1, 2022 (the date DHS was able to start reimbursing benefits), to the end of December, 2024, DHS received more than 38,000 electronic theft claims overall and verified more than 23,000 of those claims. It approved the replacement of $8,872,130 of stolen funds following review, according to the department.
State Rep. Abigail Salisbury, who represents communities such as Braddock, East Pittsburgh, and Wilkinsburg, said the issue is one she hears about with some regularity from constituents asking if there’s anything her office can do.
While she is able to connect individuals with food pantries to temporarily assist, Salisbury said she believes the state could be doing more, through “smart card” technology to make it harder for thieves to steal benefits, and through apps that make it easier for users to lock down their benefits if they believe their account has been improperly accessed.
Scams like this prey, “on some of the most vulnerable populations in our state. People who are hungry, people who are in food insecurity,” Salisbury said, in addition to adding further strain on food pantries, nonprofits, and churches that provide emergency food aid.
Earlier this month, Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services sent a text message to all SNAP recipients warning them of such scams, urging EBT card users to be vigilant for potential skimming devices at stores, monitor their transactions regularly, and change their PIN number often to stymie fraudsters.
Anyone whose benefits are stolen should file a report with local law enforcement, the department said. Victims should also request a new EBT card, according to the department.
DHS said in a statement it is working with its EBT contractor, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the federal agency that oversees the SNAP program, “to evaluate options to further enhance EBT security, including the possibility of chip cards and transaction locking features.”
In the meantime, Houser is stuck until he gets additional SNAP funds in March.
“I wish someone in Washington, D.C., would figure out what to do here and replace people's food stamps,” he said, “because I'm not the only one this happened to.”
If you were a victim of SNAP theft, more information from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services is available here.
