RICHMOND, Va. — Between full time school, a part time job, and raising two children, Emily Stanley has her hands full.
“Raising young kids, trying to make ends meet, house payment, car payment, electric bill, all those add up," Stanley said.
But the single mom in Richmond is thankful to get help buying groceries through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
“It’s very important because with food so high right now, it’s impossible to come out on top," Stanley said.
Watch: State won't replace Richmond mom's stolen SNAP benefits: 'I don't know how we're going to make it'
Over the weekend, when her SNAP benefits hit on the first of the month, she went to place an online Kroger order. But to her surprise, she was told she had no money in her Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) account.
She said she made some calls to social services and found out that someone had used her funds to make fraudulent out-of-state transactions. In total, over $1,400 in benefits, some of which was backpay she had waited multiple months for, vanished.
“I was kind of heartbroken. I didn't think it would happen to me," Stanley said.
SNAP benefit theft has become a widespread issue. Since November, CBS 6 has interviewed several families who reported being victimized. Most local social services departments reported upticks in claims of theft, and Richmond city saw a 2,000% increase in November 2024.
Across Virginia, federal data showed there was a 614% increase in claims of theft from the start of fiscal year 2024 to the end of fiscal year 2024, with 3,901 reports in just the fourth quarter alone.
“I think if it continues to happen, and nothing is being done to stop it, I think things are going to hit the fan. I really do. I think things are going to get out of control," Stanley said.
Stanley said she filed a police report with the Richmond Police Department (RPD) but was told nothing would likely come from it. RPD previously told CBS 6 that the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) is the lead investigating agency. VDSS has still not answered CBS 6's questions from November about how the agency is attempting to hold perpetrators accountable and how many people have been charged in connection to these crimes.
Watch: Her SNAP benefits were stolen. She wants to know what's being done to catch the thieves and prevent fraud.
VDSS said customers' EBT accounts can be compromised several ways:
- Unauthorized apps accessing personal information
- Promises of free or extra benefits from people looking to exploit you
- Responding to unsolicited calls, emails, and texts claiming there is an issue with your EBT account
- Using online or in-store pickup services
- Swiping your card with a reader tampered by a skimming device
Salaam Bhatti, the SNAP Director of the Food Research and Action Center, an organization that works to combat hunger, said SNAP users are particularly vulnerable to skimming because EBT cards lack safeguards.
“You might be thinking that EBT cards, which is what SNAP participants use, that they have the same industry level protections of the chip technology, CVV numbers, expiration dates. Unfortunately, that is not the case," Bhatti said. “It's very easy to target this card because it's nothing but a glorified hotel key card at this point.”
When private industries switched from magnetic swipe cards to chip cards, Bhatti said there was a 90% decrease in fraud and theft. That same type of impact could help SNAP recipients, he said.
However, he anticipates it could be a "years-long process" for all states to make the transition since retailers will need to update their software or hardware and states will need to roll out new cards.
Right now, only California and Oklahoma have committed to implementing chip card technology.
"A few other states are in the planning stages as well, and we're working with our network of advocates across the country to make sure they're at the table with their SNAP and administering agencies to get the ball rolling on this," Bhatti said.
The increase in theft, combined with lacking security, comes at a time when Congress allowed a program that gave states authority to replace stolen benefits with federal funds to expire in December 2024, leaving it up to states to decide whether they want to use their own money to issue replacements to victims.
VDSS said the commonwealth does not have the funds to replace stolen benefits.
However, the agency said it implemented a new mobile phone app feature in January that will allow customers to lock their EBT cards when not in use to prevent unauthorized transactions.
Bhatti said he has heard stories about the app crashing or being inaccessible to some.
"It's not a fail-safe to be having these types of technological innovations when they're not going to be working 100% of the time," Bhatti said.
He added Food Research and Action Center will continue to push legislation that would bring back a permanent benefit replacement program and help states transition to more secure EBT cards.
For Stanley, she feels the government isn't doing enough to protect vulnerable families.
“It's not making sense that that money can just be gone and they're okay with it," she said.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky| Facebook| Instagram| X| Threads| TikTok| YouTube
