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At a time when food prices have reached alarming highs, criminals are stealing SNAP food stamp benefits from the households that need them the most.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees SNAP benefits, issued two warnings in October about food stamp scams. Some states are reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen benefits.
Experts believe the rise in food stamp benefits fraud is the result of thieves taking advantage of the influx of SNAP recipients during the pandemic. According to research from the nonpartisan Center On Budget And Policy Priorities (CBPP), 41 million people participated in the SNAP program in February 2022, compared to an average of 37 million people a month pre-pandemic.
Many low-income families rely on these benefits to purchase groceries; In some cases, it’s impossible to recover stolen food stamps. This could put families who rely on these funds at increased risk of hunger or malnutrition.
SNAP benefits are commonly disbursed onto electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards. Though this option makes it convenient for recipients to access their funds, it’s also made them vulnerable to fraud.
Common SNAP Benefit Scams
According to the USDA, there are several reports of card skimming and phishing scams making the rounds among SNAP…
