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Georgia issues $3M in food stamp replacements amidst EBT fraud wave

By Kevyn Stewart
Updated  October 9, 2024 1:43pm EDT
Georgia
FOX 5 Atlanta

Scammers steal millions worth of food stamps

Thieves have managed to steal millions of dollars worth of food stamps by wiping out strangers' EBT cards. Here's how they're doing it.

In brief:

    • The Georgia Department of Human Services has issued nearly $3 million in replacement food stamp benefits due to fraud since last fall.
    • More than 7,000 claims for missing SNAP benefits have been filed, with over 5,600 approved by DHS.
    • Affected individuals, including those with repeated incidents of fraud, have reported significant losses, with one person losing over $1,500 in two months.
    • The suspected fraud involves skimming, cloning, or theft of EBT cards.
    • DHS advises never to share personal information unsolicitedly, maintain strong passwords, and provides a primary phone number (877-423-4746) and official communication channels to report and mitigate fraud.

ATLANTA - Since last fall, the Georgia Department of Human Services has issued close to $3 million in replacement food stamp benefits due to fraud. DHS clients continue to report missing money from their EBT accounts. 

"Someone took the money off my card way up in New York," explained Carla Bashir. 

Bashir was among several people who showed up at the DHS office on Tuesday to report losses due to fraud, hoping to recoup the money. 

"I'm sitting in the house with nothing in my refrigerator," a frustrated Bashir exclaimed. 

The state informed FOX 5 Atlanta that more than 7,000 claims for replacing missing SNAP benefits have been submitted since late last October, and DHS has approved more than 5,600 of those claims. 

Families' EBT accounts have been accessed fraudulently more than once. 

"I received another card, so I don't understand how they managed to do it again," said Dejuana Reeves, a mother of five and grandmother of one. 'In two months, over $1,500 has been stolen from me.' 

According to DHS, federal guidelines allow reimbursement of stolen SNAP benefits only twice a year, up until December 20.

DHS believes the fraud is related to EBT cards that have been skimmed, cloned, or otherwise stolen. The agency suggests the following tips: 

  • NEVER share sensitive information with an unsolicited requestor.
  • Be wary of publicly posting information such as birthdays, children or pet names, workplaces, where you grew up, and other personal historical information on social media. Doing so can let scammers successfully answer challenge questions and reset passwords on your accounts without needing to interact with you at all.
  • DHS customers should maintain strong, unique passwords for their Georgia Gateway accounts and never share personal account information with anyone who is not a designated caregiver.
  • Save DHS’ primary phone number 877-423-4746 in your phone contacts, that way, when you need to reach us, you’ll have the correct phone number immediately available to you.
  • If you suspect that a call you receive is a scam, hang up and call DHS directly using the phone number you saved in your contacts.
  • If you suspect that an email, text message, website, or social media page/account is a scam, don’t open any links or attachments that you see. Instead, call DHS directly OR go to our website – dhs.georgia.gov.
  • Be advised that DHS may serve you via social media, but over the phone we will ask for your Social Security number and banking information for verification and when submitting a new application.
  • Georgians who think they’ve been the victim of a phishing scam involving their public benefits should contact the DHS Office of Inspector General at inspectorgeneralhotline@dhs.ga.gov or 877-423-4746, option 4.
  • SNAP recipients who have been the victim of fraud can submit a request for replacement benefits and learn more on this webpage. No police report is required.

Source:

  •  Georgia Department of Human Services

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