To Combat Rising Thefts, CT SNAP Recipients Urged to Change PINs

The Connecticut Department of Social Services reminded residents to exercise caution in response to a recent increase in reported thefts of SNAP and EBT benefits after reports initially declined earlier this year.

Criminals have been working to undermine efforts to connect residents with the state support they need, which has placed undue harm on residents already working hard to keep their finances in order.

Despite communication efforts to increase the number of EBT residents protecting their benefits by regularly changing their PINs, the agency said a downturn in benefit thefts from June to August has ended and rates of stolen benefits are increasing again.

The Connecticut Mirror reported in July that there had been a more than 1,800% increase in theft of SNAP benefits, or food stamps, from the 2023 fiscal year to FY 2024. Reported thefts rose as high as 2,855 in June before declining, according to reports.

Criminals were installing skimming machines on point-of-sale devices and used phishing attempts to steal individuals’ personal identification numbers. The DSS statistics suggest that efforts to combat the thefts worked as the agency raised public awareness of the issue.

Although outreach efforts contributed to a 48% decline from a peak in June, requests for stolen benefit replacement rose again in August, according to DSS.

These thefts were increasingly concerning as many families received summer EBT benefits meant to help children’s nutrition when they had limited access to school meals. The program provided an additional $120 per child for families, and was expected to serve 303,000 children in the state over the summer.

State officials ask that anyone who receives food stamps change their PIN code after each purchase to fight the skimming and phishing efforts. Changing a PIN at the beginning of the month, when funds are deposited, is another recommended strategy.

These steps are more important now than ever, as replacing stolen benefits may soon become much more challenging. NBC News recently reported that if no action was taken by federal lawmakers by September 30, most victims of benefit theft will no longer get their benefits back.

There has been a provision in place for the last two years to pay back victims of theft, but when the program ends, states won’t have the resources to aid victims. The Biden administration and lawmakers have called for changes, including extending the program and pushing states to switch to chip-based EBT cards, which will protect against theft.

Posted by Joe O’Leary