CLEVELAND — Two minutes.
That’s how quickly $1,411.43 disappeared from Robert Bennett’s electronic benefits card on Monday morning. The card he depends on to feed a family of seven on Cleveland’s West Side.
But Bennett wasn’t out buying groceries. He was sitting at home, watching, as a series of transactions at unfamiliar stores drained his account balance to $10.57.
“I felt devastated,” said Bennett, a 47-year-old commercial painter. “You know, I thought about the kids. Because they were waiting for it.”
He is not alone
State and local officials have been warning food-stamp recipients about electronic benefits theft for months. In Cuyahoga County alone, EBT cardholders have filed 434 reports of suspected fraud since June of last year – totaling about $166,000.
“I got two calls about this last week, and I normally don’t get calls about this,” said Kevin Gowan, Cuyahoga County’s director of job and family services.
His department is seeing a slight increase in theft reports, with 28 so far this month.
“This is a horrible thing,” Gowan said. “These are criminals preying upon the most vulnerable people in our society. People who need these benefits just to feed their families.”
How the money is stolen
Bennett doesn’t know who accessed his personal information. Or how they did it.
To use an Ohio Direction Card, the state’s version of the EBT card, a person needs both the account number and the PIN. It’s possible to get that information from a skimmer, an illegal device placed on a card reader. Thieves also use fake cards, phone calls and texting schemes.
An ongoing issue
Cuyahoga County officials started hearing about electronic benefits theft in October 2022, Gowan said. Similar reports surfaced across the country, prompting federal action.
In December 2022, Congress passed a law that lets states access federal money to repay victims. The reimbursement program is limited to electronic benefits theft. So it does not apply to situations where someone steals an actual benefits card.
Ohio rolled out its repayment process in June 2023, after receiving approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Theft victims must fill out a form and submit it to their county’s job and family services agency in person or by mail, fax or email.
For now, the federal law offers hope to people whose benefits were stolen between Oct. 1, 2022 and Sept. 30, 2024. It’s unclear how many cardholders have been impacted.
Ohio is one of only 10 states reporting claims to the USDA. And online data is limited.
A USDA representative said the agency’s Food and Nutrition Services division is working with the states, other federal agencies, retailers, payment processors and experts to fight theft.
“Fraud will not be tolerated in FNS programs,” the representative wrote in an email.
Prevention
Officials said EBT cardholders should change their PINs often – ideally right before their monthly benefits payments come in. The USDA also recommends avoiding simple PIN numbers, like “1234,” and covering the keypad on a payment machine before entering your PIN.
In July, Ohio made it possible for cardholders to lock their cards. That feature, available in the ConnectEBT mobile app, blocks purchases. Food-stamp recipients can unlock their cards at the grocery store, then lock them again after checking out.
Bennett didn’t know about that card-lock option. Now he’s trying to get his money back. He spent Monday filing a police report, making calls, sitting on hold and visiting a food bank.
“Luckily, I am working,” he said. “And I’m able to produce some funds to get food for the next few weeks or whatever. … But it’s going to cause like, ‘Do I pay the cable bills or utility bills, or do I buy food now?’ I was set up to be able to do everything I’m supposed to. Now I’m going to get caught up in a whirlwind, which I don’t want to be in.”
What to do
Federal law gives cardholders 90 days to file a theft report. County agencies have 30 days to respond. Gowan said it’s taking Cuyahoga County about a week to replace stolen benefits.
“I hope that doesn’t increase due to an increase in reports,” he said.
The county is asking people to report suspected benefits fraud to its hotline, at (216)-987-6950.
Bennett hopes his story prompts other EBT cardholders to take precautions.
“You definitely got to bury your information, because somebody’s out there,” he said. “I don’t know how they got this information. But they got it.”
