Thieves Drain $86,000 From Oregon SNAP and TANF Cards as State Urges Urgent Protection Steps

The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) urged SNAP and TANF recipients to actively protect their benefits after approximately 220 households reported to ODHS that nearly $86,000 worth of SNAP food and TANF cash benefits had been stolen from their EBT cards in October.

Protect Oregon SNAP and TANF Benefits

SNAP food and TANF cash benefits on EBT cards have become targets of electronic theft, such as card skimming, card cloning, phishing, and other similar methods, mostly occurring at the beginning of the month, immediately after benefits are issued to EBT cards.

Criminals use several scams, including skimming devices, internet scams, and fake websites, to steal card numbers and personal identification numbers (PINs). As soon as they have this information, they use online or out-of-state purchases to drain SNAP food and TANF cash benefits from a person’s card.

People who took action to protect their EBT cards blocked criminals from stealing EBT benefits 104 times. ODHS recommended that everyone with an EBT card take simple steps to keep their benefits safe, including changing their PIN regularly, locking their cards, and blocking online and out-of-state purchases.

Find more tips to protect your EBT card and benefits here.