New Alabama DHR measures hope to cut EBT food theft
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Officials with the Alabama Department of Human Resources are hoping new security measures will cut down on the theft of food benefits. Thousands of recipients have had their SNAP benefits taken remotely in Alabama in the last year through fraud.
DHR officials say SNAP recipients need to use a new online system to lock their account and unlock it whenever they're ready to buy something and lock it again when they're done.Last month, we told you about how DHR stopped tracking EBT theft after reimbursement funds to recipients ended in late 2024. DHR officials say the new online account lock feature is another tool in their security toolbox with more to follow later this year.
'This gives a lot of autonomy and security options for the actual user. So it allows them to be to secure their own card,' said DHR Food Assistance Director Brandon Hardin. 'It is one of the tools in our toolbox, and we're going to continue to roll out other features throughout this year. Some are skeptical of the changes and argue DHR isn't focusing on the right problem. Christopher Lewis in Chickasaw receives SNAP benefits after injuries from two vehicle crashes.
Christopher Lewis, theft victim: 'I don't think that would help too much at all. I think they really need to update their systems and go to the chip cards,' said Lewis. He says the onus should be on reimbursing the people who were harmed. 'I think it's wrong that they're not reimbursing us. The fraud has been going on for a while now and still nothing's being done about it.'
He says someone stole his EBT funds in Texas last month and he couldn't get it back. DHR officials say they'll hopefully start rolling out cards with microchip security in by the end of the year.
For more information on locking your EBT account, follow the link here to DHR's news release page.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Rep. Vince Fong introduces SKIM Act to combat EBT fraud
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — For months, KGET has followed the EBT fraud crisis in Kern County. What started out as calls to our newsroom led to the revelation of dozens of victims and thousands of dollars in benefits stolen. The investigation shed light on millions of stolen dollars and a sophisticated Romanian crime ring operating across the county. After countless attempts of asking elected officials for answers, change may be coming from Capitol Hill. Skimming Scheme: The Romanian crime ring stealing EBT benefits in Kern County On Friday, Rep. Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) introduced the 'Stopping Klepto-card and Identity Misuse Act' — or SKIM Act. This legislative effort is specifically designed to crack down EBT theft, that is Electronic Benefit Transfer, known as CalFresh and CalWorks in California. Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) is a co-sponsor of the bill. Through 17 News' investigation, we uncovered that the California Department of Social Services has lost more than $439 million in EBT benefits since 2021. In the last seven months, more than $2 million in Kern County taxpayer money has been stolen. Ex-Arvin teacher accused of sex with underage student set for hearing next week The SKIM Act directs the U.S. Attorney to coordinate federal, state, and local efforts to fight EBT fraud. It also asks sentencing guidelines to be much harder on EBT thieves. The bill also asks the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit a report to Congress on their efforts to prevent, investigate, prosecute, and sentence convicted EBT thieves. You can read the SKIM Act in full here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Alabama officials recommend locking food stamp cards to prevent out-of-state fraud
HUNTSIVLLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) is recommending that all EBT cardholders utilize the new Lock/Unlock feature on the ConnectEBT app and website, especially the 'Lock Card Everywhere' option which will help block out of state fraud. From May 2023 to Dec. 20, 2024, Alabama DHR replaced $15.9 million of SNAP benefits due to EBT fraud. From October to December 2024, over 26,000 reimbursements were approved for $10.5 million. The Department believes that 100 percent of the funds were stolen from outside of the state. Data shows that around $1.8 million in Alabama EBT expenditures happened in the state of New York and around $2.2 million was spent in Pennsylvania. DHR said it believes most, if not all, of this is fraud. 'The very best thing our SNAP clients can do is lock their card when they aren't using it,' said Alabama DHR Commissioner Nancy Buckner. 'With the funds being stolen by utilizing out of state EBT terminals, we believe using our newest feature on ConnectEBT and locking the EBT card will truly combat this type of fraud.' Clients can choose from two options when locking their card: 'Lock Card Everywhere' or 'Lock Card'. 'Lock Card Everywhere' completely locks cards to ALL purchases anywhere. The 'Lock Card' option will lock cards from purchases outside of Alabama but does allow online purchases. DHR strongly recommends the 'Lock Card Everywhere' option at all times when the card is not in use. In the event a card is used at a location for a food purchase, the business can access the amount due, even if the card is then immediately locked by the user. Authorization for the purchase is in real-time and based on the card status at the time of the transaction. If the card is locked when the card is swiped or keyed in, then the retailer's transaction will fail due to the locked card status. But if the cardholder locks the card, even if it is immediately AFTER the transaction is complete, the transaction would have already been authorized and completed and the transaction would be successful as long as available funds were in the account at the time of the purchase. EBT cardholders may also sign up for alerts through the ConnectEBT app and website. These alerts include account activity alerts through the app, text, and/or email. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Pope meets with child protection advisory board as survivors call for zero tolerance of abuse
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV met with members of the Vatican's child protection advisory commission on Thursday for the first time amid questions about his past handling of clergy sex abuse cases and demands from survivors that he enact a true policy of zero tolerance for abuse across the Catholic Church. The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which is made up of religious and lay experts in fighting abuse as well as supporting survivors, called the hourlong audience a 'significant moment of reflection, dialogue, and renewal of the church's unwavering commitment to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable people.' The group said it updated history's first American pope on its activities, including an initiative to help church communities in poorer parts of the world prevent abuse and care for victims. The Vatican did not provide the text of Leo's remarks or make the audio of the audience available to reporters. Pope Francis created the commission early on in his pontificate to advise the church on best practices and placed a trusted official, Boston's then-archbishop, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, in charge. But as the abuse scandal spread globally during Francis' 12-year pontificate, the commission lost its influence its crowning recommendation — the creation of a tribunal to judge bishops who covered up for predator priests — went nowhere. After many years of reform and new members, it has become a place where victims can go to be heard and bishops can get advice on crafting guidelines to fight abuse. O'Malley turned 80 last year and retired as archbishop of Boston, but he remains president of the commission and headed the delegation meeting with Leo in the Apostolic Palace. It has often fallen to O'Malley to speak out on egregious cases that have arrived at the Vatican, including one that remains on Leo's desk: The fate of the ex-Jesuit artist, the Rev. Marko Rupnik, who has been accused by two dozen women of sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse over decades. After coming under criticism that a fellow Jesuit had apparently received preferential treatment, Francis in 2023 ordered the Vatican to waive the statute of limitations on the case and prosecute him canonically. But as recently as March, the Vatican still hadn't found judges to open the trial. Meanwhile, the victims are still waiting for justice and Rupnik continues to minister, with his supporters defending him and denouncing a 'media lynching' campaign against him. Leo, the Chicago-born former Cardinal Robert Prevost, has been credited by victims of helping to dismantle an abusive Catholic movement in Peru, where he served as bishop for many years. But other survivors have asked him to account for other cases while he was a superior in the Augustinian religious order, bishop in Peru and head of the Vatican's bishops' office. The main U.S. survivor group, SNAP, has also called for Leo to adopt the U.S. policy calling for any priest who has been credibly accused of abuse to be permanently removed from ministry. Winfield writes for the Associated Press.
