MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) is receiving an increasing number of fraud reports throughout the state related to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits stolen from households impacted by EBT card skimming, cloning and similar fraud.
This is non-client fraud and is likely not due to anything a client is doing unless the client is sharing their card or PIN number with anyone, the DHR said.
According to WAFF, thousands of Alabamians have lost millions in SNAP benefits due to rampant fraud by scammers.
DHR continues to accept and process households’ replacement requests through each county office and can reimburse clients whose benefits were stolen through December 20 up to twice within the federal fiscal year, provided the client reports the theft within 30 days of discovering the theft.
Alabama DHR commissioner Nancy Buckner said at a Contract Review Committee meeting on Thursday that the fraud was likely being committed by out-of-state organized crime or foreigners.
“One of the problems right now is they’ve got the pin numbers. What we did with Secret Service months ago was we checked in the Jefferson County area and they’re putting something on that little piece of equipment that they’re putting the cards in and the retailers don’t know it. So we sent out a press release again today asking the retailers if they’d check their equipment at least each day to make sure that’s not on it. That’s one kind. Another kind is totally electronic. A lot of the money is going to two states out of state,” Buckner said. “It could either be going to organized crime or it could be going to Yemen like we had several years ago or another foreign country. It’s a huge problem. The thing is we’re having trouble keeping up replacing benefits. We can only replace it for theft two times in a year. There’s going to be a lot of folks calling if we don’t get a lid on this and shut it down.”
She continued, “It is a huge, huge problem. A lot of elderly people are having their benefits stolen.”
“There’s phone numbers out there to call about your EBT. They’re sending texts saying they’re DHR, ‘Call me back.’ They’re talking them into getting their numbers from them too. We’re battling on about six or seven different fronts trying to stop this or at least curtail it,” Buckner added.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutritional assistance initiative administered through the Alabama Department of Human Resources. SNAP benefits are 100% federally funded.
“We are asking the public to stay vigilant when shopping at retailers that accept EBT; if you see anything suspicious immediately report it to the retailer. These criminals are using sophisticated methods, and we ask retailers to work with us to shut these criminals down,” Buckner said. “This is a horrible situation for our clients who are already going through tough times. Our team is working hard to process reimbursement claims timely and get our clients some relief, but we need everyone’s help to stop these criminals.”
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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