STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A bill to protect Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients from having their benefits stolen has been included in the end-of-year omnibus funding package for fiscal year 2023 in Congress.
The “SNAP Theft Protection Act,” which U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) introduced earlier this month, would modernize the SNAP program, and better protect its recipients from identity theft and skimming scams.
Skimming occurs when criminals place a device on an ATM or point of sale machine to capture a person’s pin information and data stored on the card’s magnetic strip.
New York State reported that thousands of New Yorkers have had their EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) cards skimmed in 2022, losing a total value of more than $730,000.
“No one should go hungry because they fell victim to identity theft or a skimming scam,” Gillibrand said in a statement on Wednesday. “Today, I’m proud to announce that our bill to reissue SNAP benefits to those who had them stolen will be included in this year’s omnibus bill. SNAP provides a lifeline for millions of New Yorkers, and I will keep doing everything in my power to protect families who rely on it.”
SNAP EBT beneficiaries do not have the same protections against being defrauded as individuals with credit cards, debit cards, and pre-paid card users.
Credit, debit, and pre-paid card users are covered by the Electronic Fund Transfer…
