Officials are noticing an uptick in card skimming and are asking Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients to protect their benefits.
The Mississippi Department of Human Services’ Office of Inspector General has reported that fraudulent activity has increased over the past few weeks, resulting in stolen SNAP benefits. Card skimming is a method of stealing SNAP funds by installing illegal devices in ATMs or point-of-sale terminals to capture card data.
SNAP participants are encouraged to take the following actions that may help prevent card skimming:
- Change your PIN frequently or after each use.
- Avoid using PINs that are easy to guess, such as 1234, or sequences of the same digit like 0000 or 1111.
- While these may be convenient for you to remember, they also make it simple for thieves to access your account and steal your funds.
- Keep your PIN secret. Do not share your PIN with anyone outside your household.
- Cover the keypad when you enter your PIN on a machine.
- Check your EBT account regularly for unauthorized charges.
- If you notice any, change your PIN immediately to stop the thief from making new purchases.
- Check card reading machines to make sure there’s nothing suspicious overlayed or attached to the card swiper or keypad.
- The overlays can be difficult to detect but are often bigger than the original machine and may hide parts of the machine.
Those whose electronic benefit transfer cards have been compromised are urged to call the Mississippi EBT cardholder service center at (866) 512-5087 as soon as possible. This will deactivate the card and send a new card to the account holder.
If MDHS can verify that one’s SNAP benefits were stolen due to skimming, card cloning, or other similar methods between August 15, 2023, and December 20, 2024, the recipient may be eligible for replacement benefits. Lost benefits can be reported here.