Congress Urged to Act as SNAP Skimming Threatens Vital Food Assistance for Families

Many families who rely on government help to buy food could soon lose out if Congress doesn't step in by September 30th. These families are part of SNAP, a program that helps over 41 million Americans afford groceries. 

But there's been a problem with thieves stealing their money through a trick called skimming, where they use a device to grab the card details and steal the cash.

In the past, victims of skimming had their stolen SNAP benefits replaced with federal dollars, but this might change. The policy that allows for this reimbursement is set to expire at the end of September, and most states don't plan to use their own money to give back what's stolen if the federal government stops doing so.

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Congress has been asked to fix this issue quickly. Representative C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger from Maryland has been fighting for victims of SNAP skimming. He believes the government isn't giving this the attention it deserves.

Data shows that a lot of money—more than $61.5 million—was given back to nearly 125,000 households to replace what they lost to skimmers in a single fiscal year. Ruppersberger says this is probably even less than what's actually been stolen.

Thieves take advantage of the fact that SNAP cards don't have the same security features as regular debit cards, like chips or contactless payment methods. This makes it easier for them to steal. The cards people use for SNAP only have a magnetic strip, which is easier for skimmers to copy.

A couple of states are trying to make SNAP cards safer. California plans to start using new cards with chips in 2025, and Oklahoma is going to do the same next summer. Until then, these cards are an easy target for skimmers.

The Biden administration also wants to keep helping families get their stolen benefits back and has criticized a government funding proposal for not addressing this issue.

Even with the current federal help, not all stolen SNAP benefits are replaced, and the process isn't perfect, but it has helped many families. Advocates are worried that if Congress doesn't act, most states won't step in, and many families could end up struggling even more to make ends meet.

A single mom named Gina from Boston knows this too well. She had nearly $1,000 stolen from her SNAP account which left her in a panic, but thankfully, she got the money back after a week. She's afraid it could happen again and hopes the cards will become more secure soon.

Without help from the government, some people might have to go without food or struggle to pay their bills—putting them in a really tough spot.

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