The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP benefits) is one of the programs that has the greatest impact when it comes to alleviating hunger and keeping low-income families and individuals away from poverty. It is also one of the most controversial federal initiative with debates sparkled in several instances, including the Congress in Washington.
Among all the constant disputes, this program is constantly faced with fraud-related challenges, including the fraudulent use of EBT cards. These cards are exclusive to the SNAP benefits program and work exactly the same as a credit or debit card, with the limitation that in most states they only work with a magnetic stripe and do not have a security chip.
The state of New York is one of those that has been working hard to reduce and eliminate, hopefully one day, the occurrence of SNAP benefit EBT card frauds.
The problem is too big because in the state of New York more than 61,000 claims for fraud with EBT cards were filed in the last 9 months, showing the high vulnerability of these payment devices.
Changes to the Security of SNAP Benefit EBT Cards
One of the legislative proposals to combat SNAP benefit fraud is the Bill S. 8918, sponsored by State Senator Luis R.
Sepúlveda, which seeks to automatically cancel EBT cards in the event of fraud being reported, without requiring the beneficiary to go through multiple bureaucratic processes to obtain a refund or a new card.
This measure seeks to streamline the process for victims and avoid having to be involved in a tangle of bureaucratic procedures to get a refund or a new EBT card.
But this bill is not only in the New York Congress: two other proposals seek to address SNAP benefits fraud, such as Bill S. 9649, which seeks to conduct a comprehensive study on the prevalence of fraud in the state and propose recommendations to improve EBT technology and prevent fraud.
The third project on the list seeks to replace EBT cards with magnetic stripe ones that have a chip, making them more secure and less susceptible to electronic fraud.
SNAP Benefits EBT Cards Are Susceptible to Fraud: And This Is the Reason
Magnetic stripe cards, such as SNAP benefit EBTs, are more prone to fraud compared to those with a chip due to differences in their security technology. Cards with a magnetic stripe contain the user’s information statically on a strip that is attached to the back of the card.
Such information can be easily copied or cloned by fraudulent devices such as skimmers, which can read and store the magnetic stripe data when the card is swiped on a reader.On the other hand, chip cards use microprocessor technology that generates dynamic and unique codes for each transaction.
Every time a purchase is made, the code is different, generated immediately at that very moment. This makes it much more difficult for fraudsters to try to clone a card or steal valuable information. Both magnetic stripe cards and those with a microchip require the entry of a PIN, which adds an additional layer of security.
Never write down or store your PIN (personal identification number) number in an easy-to-find place or use numbers that are easily identifiable, such as your birthday or your house door number. Also do not share that PIN number with anyone who is not of your entire and absolute trust and memorize it only for yourself.
