HOUSTON – The cards used by millions of Americans to purchase food for their family don’t have modern security features, experts say.
SNAP cards have found their want into the headlines across the country as cases of stolen benefits rise.
SNAP, which is short for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is the largest food program in the nation.
Benefits are being stolen through a process called ‘SNAP Skimming.’ Here’s an in-depth explanation of what SNAP skimming is.
It’s important to know that SNAP is a federally funded benefit, but is managed by individual states.
This means that each state has different SNAP cards. In Texas, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission manages SNAP benefits and issues them on the Lone Star card.
The problem with cards across the country is that they each lack modern security features, like a computer chip known as an “EMV chip.”
“My heart dropped. Had I been by myself, I’d have hit the floor,” Chaunsea DiMaggio of Houston told KPRC 2 when she realized her SNAP benefits were stolen.
READ: State employees suspected of stealing from low-income Texans’ public assistance accounts
If her Lone Star card had that chip, her benefits would’ve likely never been accessed by bad actors.
“There was $3.42 left on my card,” she said. ”We rely on that every single month, otherwise we don’t eat."
SNAP skimming has surged in recent months. Many Houstonians have shared their stories with 2 Helps You.
The crime will continue to take off if the cards aren’t changed, according to experts.
ASK 2: What is ‘SNAP skimming?’
“The EBT program has become a buffet for fraudsters,” said Hayoowd Talcove, the CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Government Business. “When the criminals realized that the USDA was using a glorified hotel room key with no chip on, they started developing tools and procedures to start stealing at scale.”
Until January, not a single state had any kind of chip SNAP card.
California just launched theirs at the start of the year.
Oklahoma, Alabama and Maryland are working on releasing theirs this year.
How about Texas? The Health and Human Services Commission says they’re still working on it.
“HHSC continues to research the possibility and challenges of implementing chip cards,” a TxHHS spokesperson told KPRC 2.
“When I hear comments like that, you know what I hear? What I hear is I don’t care about taxpayer dollars, and I don’t care about the food insecure,” Talcove responded. “I know this sounds really inhumane. My answer was don’t do that because the criminals will steal even more.”
At this point, Texas and other states could skip the chip. Instead, Talcove says they could start looking at contactless payment methods. (Think of Apple Pay or other digital wallets)
They’re much more secure and removes a physical plastic card from the equation.
It would make it even more difficult for criminals to obtain your cards information.
Who are these criminals, anyway? According to Talcove, they aren’t one-off crooks cashing in.
“You’re not dealing with small actors here,“ he said. ”You are dealing with sophisticated transnational, in some cases, state-sponsored groups that have killer technology.”
It’s those massive criminal groups who are stealing from people who need it most, while victimizing every American taxpayer in the process.
The only way to bring their thefts to a halt?
“You need to put the little chip card,” Talcove answered.
