PHOENIX — A Valley woman said someone managed to make unauthorized purchases on her Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits card and took about $150 out of her account just before the holidays.
Federal and state agencies say there’s no protection for lost or stolen funds for SNAP benefits.
Money taken
Cindy Suarez uses her SNAP benefits for the necessities.
“I buy groceries, I buy food,” Suarez said.
Suarez, who's a mother and grandmother, hasn't been able to go back to work while dealing with medical issues, so she says she’s grateful for the extra help.
“There’s a lot of people that are like me that really literally can’t go back to work and we depend on those funds,” Suarez said.
But it was some of those funds, Suarez noticed were taken from her EBT card without her authorization out of state.
“Friday night I went to go pick up some snacks and I noticed that my balance was really low,” Suarez said. “And that alarmed me.”
Suarez said representatives told her a $2 transaction was made first at a Ralph’s in California.
“The second transaction happened nine miles away and about an hour and 20 minutes later and that was at in El Super and that was for $149.50,” Suarez said.
No protection for benefits
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shows federal law has said since the 1990s that SNAP benefits aren’t protected from fraud.
The USDA, which manages SNAP, also shows that benefits that are compromised, won’t be replaced.
“It’s Christmas time. I have $50 for the next three weeks, that’s not sustainable,” Suarez said.
The Arizona Department of Economic Security told 12 News in a statement that there’s been an increase in credit card skimming across the nation and EBT holders are also victimized.
“Being a victim of fraud has a serious impact on families in need of assistance, particularly during the holidays,” DES spokesperson Brett Bezio said in part of the statement.
What to do if you are a victim and how to avoid becoming one
DES said to help EBT cardholders from being victimized, they recommend not keeping large balances in the account, changing the PIN for the card regularly and freezing the card between transactions.
Freezing the card can be done through the ebtEDGE website and mobile app.
DES also said if EBT cardholders notice fraud, to contact FIS, DES’ EBT card vendor, to dispute the transactions and get a replacement card at 888-997-9333.
“If the dispute is rejected, the cardholder can contact and appeal to the retailer to see if the transaction can be reversed,” Bezio said in the statement.
Bezio also said EBT cardholders should report fraud to DES too at fraudreferralexternal.azdes.gov or by calling the DES Fraud Line at (800) 251-2436.
Suarez said she’s keeping her card frozen between purchases now as she figures out how to make the remaining $50 stretch over the holidays.
“I think that the basics, the bare minimum is what it’s going to be,” Suarez said.
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