A plan to combat fraudulent claims for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will be piloted in Oklahoma.
The Department of Human Services issued SNAP participants contactless EBT cards. Skimmers and card cloning are an issue for SNAP recipients who rely on these benefits.
Stolen SNAP Benefit with around $730,000
Since March of last year, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services has received 2,208 reports of thefts totaling approximately $730,000 throughout Oklahoma.
Tom Pennington, an OKDHS financial advisor, suggested initiating a pilot to examine a more modern and contactless method for SNAP beneficiaries to get their benefits.
They anticipate a reduction in fraud and an increase in convenience.
It’s already in circulation. The technology has been established. The chip card reduces a great deal of fraud. We hope that by doing this pilot, we will be able to provide you the card information through email or text message so that you may insert it into your electronic wallet and go shopping immediately Pennington stated.
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There are still some hurdles to jump
Having technology in stores is undoubtedly a problem. Naturally, the majority of our businesses use it; however, farmer’s markets and little mom-and-pop shops lack such sophisticated equipment. There is a unique system for each retailer.
Thus, Pennington advised making sure that whoever’s system it is may accept it as well.
They stated that any SNAP users can participate and they anticipate the initiative to launch the next year.
People who are interested may volunteer, but they must be present during the pilot in the locations of the stores that carry that. Pennington expressed the hope that if all goes smoothly, we would be able to implement it over the entire state.
They advise using strong PIN numbers and frequently checking your EBT account charges as they work to get the program up and running.
