OKLAHOMA CITY – Thousands of Oklahomans and millions around the country rely on food assistance programs, but these government payments are increasingly being deducted from accounts before recipients are aware of the situation.
It’s a growing crime with devastating consequences.
Katherine Henderson and her five-member family are SNAP recipients. However, she received awful news at the grocery shop earlier this month.
She continued, “I received like a small receipt that said, ‘There’s just $20 in here.'” “I thought to myself, ‘That’s not right.'” Because today was supposed to be the deposit day.”
Someone in California took withdrew around $1000 in government aid funds.
Katherine claims that a call to the Department of Homeland Security uncovered a concerning trend, maybe at local large box stores.
“Skimmers were installed on self-checkout machines, and individuals were taking SNAP numbers through the skimmers,” she continued. “It appears that they abducted a large number of people at once.”
Skimmers are a pervasive problem in the Metro, with Oklahoma City Police issuing a warning only a few weeks ago.
SNAP recipients, on the other hand, are particularly susceptible since the money taken is non-refundable.
“They informed us they weren’t going to repay us for this,” Katherine explained.
The issue affects those who rely on government aid from coast to coast. In only the previous few months, we discovered consumer warnings from Arizona, Wisconsin, Maryland, Washington, D.C., California, Florida, and Illinois.
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Credit card skimmers are likely to respond, as they all reported an increase in SNAP theft.
The Oklahoma Department of Homeland Security reacted with the following statement:
Card skimming has increased in Oklahoma, as it has in the rest of the country. Because SNAP EBT cards work similarly to debit cards, OKDHS has discovered that some of our consumers are also victims of these frauds. Unfortunately, the federal government does not insure EBT cards or benefits, so they cannot be replaced if they are lost or stolen.
Customers should ask store employees to confirm that the shopping terminals have not been tampered with before swiping their SNAP cards. Customers can also alter their PIN at any time by contacting 1-888-328-6551 or going to www.connectebt.com/. If a SNAP client suspects their card has been hacked, they should immediately contact Conduent at the phone number or website listed above to deactivate their existing card and obtain a replacement.
Katherine’s family, as well as many others, must now figure out how to get through the rest of the month.
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“I’m confident we’ll be able to get through this,” she continued, “like we could white-knuckle it and figure it out.” “However, there are many that cannot, and I have no idea what they are doing right now.”
DHS recommends customers, as stated in the above statement:
- Before making a purchase, verify with store employees to ensure that the terminals haven’t been tampered with.
- Change pin numbers regularly.
- Keep an eye on your accounts and deactivate your credit card right away if you suspect theft.
