Thousands of Connecticut residents receiving federal food benefits have seen their funds stolen after thefts skyrocketed in the last year, but state officials are cautiously optimistic a new campaign to raise public awareness about the issue is helping to protect the state’s low-income residents.
Theft of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits ballooned widely in fiscal year 2024, a jump of over $3 million from the year prior, when $132,000 was stolen.
Officials say so-called “skimmer devices” are to blame, illegally installed scanners on point of sale machines that capture the account details of an EBT card, including a user’s pin number. When scanned, the transaction still goes through, but thieves can later use the account information to cash out the card’s balance, which is most common when benefits are reloaded at the start of the month.
The Department of Social Services is pushing an education campaign to tackle the issue, including text messaging, social media, and community conversations. Recipients are directed to change their EBT card pin number at least once a month, ideally before monthly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits kick in.
State officials are pointing to signs of progress on combating the thefts.
Christine Stuart, DSS deputy director of communications, said there were 63% fewer SNAP thefts in the first week of July, compared to the same week in June – and over 24,000 Connecticut residents changed their pin last month.
“The fact that the amount of people changing their pin has doubled between May and June, I feel like that's a promising sign that the campaign is working,” she said.
Stuart said her agency is asking Congress to help fund security improvements to EBT cards, which currently operate like debit card, but don’t have a chip to provide an additional layer of security.
Victims of fraud can apply to have their SNAP benefits replaced, but as of now the federal pilot program funding those replacements will expire by the end of this September. Stuart said DSS is asking Congress to extend the program at least another year.
As of July 15, over 6,500 stolen benefits claims were approved in 2024, and over 7,500 were submitted, DSS data shows.
“These criminals are preying on some of the most vulnerable people in the state, people who really need food assistance,” State Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, said. “It’s a problem that's been growing nationally, but it's certainly been growing in Connecticut at least this year, although hopefully we're making a dent in it now.”
Lesser, who co-chairs the Human Services Committee, said he doesn’t know if improving EBT card security requires a state policy change – but if so, lawmakers would tackle it in the 2025 legislative session.
