Bad news for SNAP beneficiaries: stolen benefits will not be replaced in 2025

Theft of SNAP benefits by organized gangs has been on the rise in the United States. While it began in just a few states, it is now a problem nationwide with every state having reported instances. And it’s a big problem for recipients of the money, who have few resources, to be able to put nutritional food on the table.

Between January 2023 and September 2024, states replaced over $150 million in stolen benefits that corresponded to more than 315,000 households according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities points out that this “represents only 0.17 percent of SNAP benefits issued over the same period, but for the SNAP households who are victims of the theft, it represents a very large share of their family’s monthly food budget.”

Stolen SNAP benefits will not be replaced in 2025

To address this issue, provisions were included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 which allowed states to use federal funds to replace stolen SNAP benefits via card skimming, card cloning, and other similar fraudulent methods. However, that program sunset on December 20, 2024, when the spending package passed by Congress did not include another extension. So now, it will be up to the states to provide their own funds if they wish to continue replacing stolen funds.

SNAP recipients will still be able to claim benefits stolen prior to the sunset date, if file in a timely manner from the time they become aware of the theft. However, there is no guarantee that SNAP recipients will be able to recover money that is stolen from their benefit account on or after December 21, 2024.

Several states have already told beneficiaries that they will be left high and dry, and forced to make hard choices of what bills will have to go unpaid in order to put food on the table or go hungry.

How are SNAP benefits stolen?

SNAP benefits are vulnerable to theft due to weaknesses in the technology used for Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards where the funds are deposited each month. Thieves place hidden “skimming” devices on card readers at retailers. When the EBT card is swiped at the checkout, the device illegally captures or “skims” the card information and PINs which can then be used to create a “clone card” and drain the victim’s account.

In order to prevent this type of theft, EBT cards should be equipped with a chip similar to those used on most debit and credit cards. However, no state yet uses this technology on their EBT cards. USDA and state SNAP agencies have been working on upgrading and improving EBT card security but it could take time for a transition to the more secure chip-enabled cards. On the one hand distributing the new cards and the other ensuring that the hundreds of thousands of retailers that accept SNAP benefits have chip-enabled readers.

In the meantime, the Food Nutrition Service provides tips for SNAP recipients, state agencies and retailers to help prevent benefits from being stolen. Also most states have implemented systems that allow households to freeze their EBT card when not in use to prevent unauthorized transactions. Additionally, SNAP recipients can block certain types of transactions, like out-of-state purchases or those made online.

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