LORAIN, Ohio — When Barbara Tamas arrived at work on March 4, a Monday morning, the Lorain County Job and Family Services office was buzzing.
There was a problem with EBT, or food-stamp, cards. Over the weekend, Lorain had been hit hard. Residents were posting on Facebook about how their benefits accounts had been emptied.
“So we braced ourselves,” said Tamas, director of the county agency. “We braced ourselves for how to take corrective action.”
For months, state and local officials have been warning EBT cardholders to protect themselves against electronic benefits theft. The U.S. Secret Service and partner agencies are chasing the thieves, sophisticated criminals who use card skimmers to steal data.
But experts say those tactics address the symptoms – not the underlying weakness.
Unlike debit and credit cards, EBT cards don’t have embedded chips. Instead, users swipe a magnetic stripe and key in a PIN. That makes them particularly vulnerable to fraud.
And that fraud comes at a high cost. Since late 2022, taxpayers have footed the bill for more than $30 million in replacement benefits, according to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the food-stamp, or SNAP, program.
“This is a failure of government,” said Betsy Gwin, a senior economic justice lawyer at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, an early advocate for better protections.
“We know how to prevent many of these problems and to better protect low-income consumers,” she said. “And now is the time to do it.”
Some theft victims don't know how their accounts were compromised, like this man who lost $1,400.
'Scammers are preying on Ohio families'
On March 7, bipartisan members of Congress introduced a bill that would require – and pay for – upgrades to EBT cards. The Enhanced Cybersecurity for SNAP Act proposes a gradual rollout of chip cards and new payment processing machines over five years.
The legislation also calls for swift replacement of stolen or cloned cards and better ways for cardholders to manage their accounts through mobile apps and websites.
So far, lawmakers from Oregon, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, New Jersey and New York are sponsoring the bill. None of Ohio’s representatives have signed on yet.
In an emailed statement, though, Ohio’s senior senator said he’s committed to helping EBT cardholders. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, is a member of the Senate’s Agriculture Committee, the first stop for any legislation involving the food stamp program.
“It’s outrageous that scammers are preying on Ohio families and stealing the money they rely on to put food on the table,” Brown said. “Congress and the USDA must make sure these Ohioans get their money back and do more to prevent this kind of theft.”
It’s unclear how much it would cost to upgrade EBT cards and replace point-of-sale equipment at corner stores, farmers markets and other small businesses.
California is transitioning to chip cards this year without waiting for federal help.
If Ohio did the same thing, it could cost $4 million to $9 million initially and up to $2 million a year after that, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. That cost estimate is so broad because the state is studying chip and tap-payment options.
But Ohio still wants the federal government to pick up the tab.
“This is a federal program, and improvements should be federally funded,” Tom Betti, a department spokesman, wrote in an email.
'This is FBI-level stuff'
More than 42 million Americans rely on SNAP, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, to buy groceries. The cost of that assistance is $107 billion a year, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The average monthly payment per person is $211.66. That’s about $7 a day.
In Ohio, nearly 1.4 million people participate in the program, according to the USDA.
Experts say electronic theft might impact 1% of cardholders. But it’s devastating.
“We have worked with clients who want to become a detective in their own crime story because they are so upset and what happened to them,” Gwin said. “And they don’t want it to happen to anyone else.”
Phaelys Torres López, 26, started using an EBT card last year. She was pregnant with her son, Zael, and had recently lost her job at a manufacturing plant in Elyria.
Now Zael is six months old. And Torres López is running out of baby formula, a week after criminals left her with only seven cents on her card.
“I started crying, like this can’t be happening,” said Torres López, who lives in Lorain.
Her account showed two large transactions at one address, a Chicago corner store. Other theft victims in Lorain, Parma and Parma Heights said their money went to the same location.
The store, on Chicago's South Side, appears to be closed. News 5 was unable to reach anyone affiliated with the business.
“This is FBI-level stuff, right? It sounds like it should be on a TV show,” said Rachel Cahill, a visiting fellow at the Center for Community Solutions, a Cleveland think tank.
'The tip of the iceberg'
Cahill and her colleagues are pushing for change – and not just for better security on EBT cards. They’re encouraging retailers to be more vigilant about inspecting for skimmers. And they’re advocating for ongoing, and expanded, reimbursement for victims.
In late 2022, Congress created a repayment program for EBT cardholders as part of a larger spending package. The federal money flows through the states, through agencies like the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
Since then, Ohio has replaced more than $1.4 million in benefits for 3,400 people.
But the reimbursement program was a stopgap measure. It will end in September if Congress doesn’t act.
And there are limits on repayments – twice a year, and up to two months’ worth of benefits. Legislators in some states have stepped in to fill gaps, ensuring victims get back everything they lost. Ohio isn’t one of those states.
“There’s a patchwork of replacement mechanisms across the country, and often families are waiting weeks, months, to receive those replacement dollars,” Gwin said.
Tamas, at Lorain County Job and Family Services, said her office has received about 150 calls about electronic benefits theft. As of Monday afternoon, the agency had replaced benefits for 25 households and was processing another 30 reimbursement requests.
“I wonder if this is the tip of the iceberg,” she said, adding that she’s expecting more calls in the coming weeks as people’s monthly benefits get deposited – and drained.
'These tools aren't enough'
Charlene Elder, another Lorain resident, recently lost almost $291. She checked her balance before going to the grocery store for milk, meat and bread. Her grandchildren were coming over, and she planned to make sloppy joes.
In the checkout line, her card was declined. She was embarrassed and confused.
From the parking lot, she called the customer service number for her Ohio Direction Card. A representative told her that someone had checked her balance by phone in late February – finding out her next deposit date and deposit amount.
“It’s kind of frightening,” said Elder, who is 52 and lives in low-income housing. “I’m glad I have friends and family who can help me out, until the balance is fixed.”
Experts said criminals sell card information and create copies of EBT cards. Either way, they’re turning the benefits into cash.
The Secret Service believes the perpetrators are organized crime rings with European ties.
State and federal officials are urging cardholders to change their PINs often – after every purchase, in some cases. Recipients also can lock their cards between transactions by using ConnectEBT, the state-endorsed mobile app.
Cahill, at the Center for Community Solutions, said that state and county agencies deserve applause for everything they’re doing to get the word out.
But that message isn’t reaching everyone. And it’s putting another burden on already stressed households – instead of fixing flaws in a system that’s supposed to support them.
“These tools aren’t enough,” she said. “And we need to go further.”
