More Than $14 Million in SNAP Benefits Have Been Stolen From New Yorkers After Reimbursement Program’s End

This year alone thousands of low-income New Yorkers have had benefits stolen from their EBT cards which allow them to buy food at certain stores It was very hard one victim communicated City Limits after having her SNAP account drained three separate times A sign for EBT in a storefront on East Gun Hill Road in the Bronx Adi Talwar City Limits In just a year Theresa Price a resident at NYCHA s Woodside Houses has had her food assistance money which she qualifies for under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Project SNAP stolen three times Each time it happened it left her with less to eat that month Each time she borrowed money to cover what got taken Two of the thefts occurred in April and September after the federal ruling body s reimbursement period expired at the end of last year meaning her stolen benefits could not be replaced They would tell you to go to the food pantry Price recalled hearing from the city s Human Guidance Administration HRA staff after she disclosed the event It was hard It was very hard function d u ac var s d createElement 'script' s type 'text javascript' s src 'https a omappapi com app js api min js' s async true s dataset user u s dataset campaign ac d getElementsByTagName 'head' appendChild s document 'u kmqsczew vunxutxmd' Price is one of tens of thousands of people who ve had money stolen from their Electronic Benefit Transfer EBT cards in New York State this year She and other casualties are now left with little to no recourse the federal cabinet stopped accepting reimbursement contends at the end of September and only for thefts that took place before Dec Lawmakers in Congress failed to renew the replacement benefits New York has been a nest for EBT skimming in which hidden devices steal payment information after someone swipes their card According to the state s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance OTDA which administers SNAP in New York million was paid in reimbursements from Aug through June In just the first six months of this year from Jan to June New Yorkers announced a total of million in stolen SNAP benefits statewide OTDA personnel narrated City Limits window addEventListener message function a if void a input datawrapper-height var e document querySelectorAll iframe for var t in a facts datawrapper-height for var r i r e i i if r contentWindow a source var d a facts datawrapper-height t px r style height d OTDA takes any review of benefit theft seriously and remains committed to protecting New Yorkers benefits from scammers EBT users are urged to be aware of skimming fraud and be vigilant about keeping track of their benefits an OTDA spokesperson disclosed in a report Although the SNAP operation is federally funded to help low-income households pay for food states are in charge of running it In New York OTDA oversees it while HRA operates and manages the operation in the city The U S Department of Agriculture in charge of SNAP at the federal level did not respond to questions about the impact of the thefts with its press office saying via email that it s unable to directly reply to media inquiries due to the ongoing governing body shutdown As of September residents of New York City alone had filed more than SNAP skimming asserts according to HRA part of the New York City Department of Social Services DSS window addEventListener message function a if void a statistics datawrapper-height var e document querySelectorAll iframe for var t in a evidence datawrapper-height for var r i r e i i if r contentWindow a source var d a statistics datawrapper-height t px r style height d DSS also stated that after the federal reimbursement period ended fewer people have submitted states because they knew their benefits will not be replaced making it hard to determine the full extent of the matter In April for example after Price s funds were stolen for the second time she didn t return to an HRA office to statement it Nor did she complain to the police when her benefits were stolen for the third time in September I screamed I really screamed she reported of the third matter I didn t go to the precinct or anything because it was a waste of time Since state legislators have introduced bills that would require New York to upgrade to chip-secured EBT cards but the act has yet to pass Other states like California and Oklahoma have already transitioned to more secure cards In July Legal Services NYC filed a lawsuit demanding the state to switch to safer card tool and to make a plan to replace SNAP benefits that are lost to skimming until more secure cards are available Days later OTDA put out a request for proposals seeking a vendor to provide a Common Benefit Identification Card CBIC which would allow New Yorkers to access various governmental benefits such as SNAP Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Medicaid Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer and Soundness Benefit Exchange programs On Oct dozens of New York organizations including anti-hunger advocates sent a letter to Gov Kathy Hochul urging the state to allocate funding both to upgrade the existing magnetic-strip benefit cards with more secure encrypted chip tool and to replace stolen benefits for those affected after the deadline Skimming exacerbates food insecurity and financial stress for already vulnerable households making it harder for them to meet their basic demands and maintain stability reads the letter We have heard countless heartbreaking and unacceptable stories from families who have needed to skip meals or put groceries back on the shelf after discovering at the cash register that their food benefits have been stolen One woman who spoke to City Limits who petitioned to remain anonymous explained her family had to delay paying rent after their EBT money was stolen over the summer We took money from rent to have money to buy groceries the -year-old woman mother to a -year-old baby announced in Spanish To make up for the stolen SNAP funds her husband who works in a restaurant would sell flowers near their home in the South Bronx after his shift for a couple of weeks A storefront on East th Street in the Bronx Adi Talwar City Limits Not percent effective Three people affected by the theft of benefits who spoke with City Limits about their experiences noted they d taken precautions to prevent skimming They d downloaded the ebtEDGE mobile app which allows them to freeze the card when not in use Two had also disabled out-of-state transactions Susan Kingsland deputy director of social services at the Red de Pueblos Trasnacionales Transnational Villages Architecture a community-based organization that s a plaintiff in Legal Services NYC s lawsuit revealed it s frustrating to run workshops instructing their clients on how to use EBT cards safely but still see people getting robbed What is also really critical is that there are a few measures you can take to prevent it but it s never a percent guarantee Kingsland declared DSS personnel acknowledged that this is the primary reason they re advocating for the chip-technology card change Although not foolproof authorities and advocates recommended the following Use the EBT card freeze feature in the ebtEDGE app available in Apple App Store and Google Play Store or the ebtEDGE website Only unfreeze the card right before making a purchase and lock the card right away after to prevent new transactions Changing PINs often and not sharing them with anyone Tracking your EBT account and transactions Avoid clicking on unknown links in emails or texts to avoid falling for phishing When paying at a cash register check and shake the card reader a little since skimming devices are sometimes flimsily attached to keypads or card readers Be alert for irregularities with retailer terminals loose keypads or card readers before using them an OTDA spokesperson suggested If you encounter a skimming device call the HRA Fraud Unit at - - If my EBT benefits are stolen what should I do If you re using the ebtEDGE app freeze the card directly Description it right away and request a new card at an HRA office or at www ebtEDGE com on the ebtEDGE app or over the phone through the EBT Customer Operation Helpline at - - - Those who have managed to steal funds from a card may steal them again from the same card so a new one is recommended To reach the reporter behind this story contact Daniel citylimits org To reach the editor contact Jeanmarie citylimits org Want to republish this story Find City Limits reprint guidelines here The post More Than Million in SNAP Benefits Have Been Stolen From New Yorkers After Reimbursement Operation s End appeared first on City Limits