COLUMBUS, Ohio (WJW) — State officials are urging Ohioans enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to be “extra cautious” amid a rise in benefits theft and fraud.
More criminals are using credit card skimmers attached over top of card readers at checkout registers to steal beneficiaries’ SNAP info and drain their accounts, according to a Friday news release from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
The credit-scoring agency FICO reported incidents of credit-card skimming rose 368% from 2021 to 2022, according to the release.
“ODJFS takes fraud very seriously, and we are committed to identifying and eliminating fraud in the SNAP program,” ODJFS Director Matt Damschroder is quoted in a Friday news release. “From increased fraud monitoring efforts to helping SNAP cardholders lock their cards, we’re aggressively working to reduce fraud.”
How to protect yourself from SNAP benefits theft
Here are some ways SNAP recipients can protect themselves:
Use the ConnectEBT app to manage your benefits. The phone and tablet app allows users to lock the card from being used, then unlock it only when they’re ready to make a purchase.
Create a unique PIN that is hard to guess. You should change that pin monthly, before each scheduled deposit.
Never share your card number or PIN. ODJFS will never ask for these numbers.
Before you swipe your card, check the reader for evidence of tampering.
When entering your PIN, cover the keypad with your body or hand to hide it from others.
Get more fraud and theft prevention tips on the department’s website.
What to do if your SNAP benefits have been stolen
SNAP recipients whose benefits were stolen between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2024, can contact their local Department of Job and Family Services.
First, recipients should get themselves a new EBT card — they can’t keep using the one that was stolen. The new card is expected to come in two days.
They can then fill out and sign a form explaining how their benefits were stolen and listing the transactions they believe to be fraudulent. It must be returned within 90 days to their county JFS office in person or by mail, fax or email.
The department is then supposed to approve reimbursements for stolen benefits and deposit those funds back in the account within 30 days, according to a department manual. The funds won’t be issued until the recipient has a new EBT card.
ODJFS has issued more than $1.4 million in reimbursements for stolen benefits to about 3,400 Ohioans since October 2022, according to the release.
How Ohio SNAP recipients can prevent benefits theft
