Ohioans who rely on SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps, pay for groceries with cards that are lacking a vital protection against cybercrime: a chip.
“They are not protected in any way, shape or form,” said Regina Campbell, a legal attorney with the Legal Society of Greater Cincinnati. “It's easy for cyber criminals who know what they're doing to steal this money. It is very, very easy pickings.”
Campbell explains that thieves attach a skimming device to card readers that pick up card information and PINs.
While credit and debit cards’ technology has evolved to prevent this kind of theft, Ohio’s EBT cards have not.
From June of 2023 to the end of 2024, thieves stole $17 million dollars in SNAP benefits from Ohio families in more than 30,000 cases, according to data from the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.
This so-called ‘SNAP skimming’ is happening as the federal food insecurity program is already facing cuts. The federal government’s rescission bill, known commonly as “One Big Beautiful Bill” reduced funding for state SNAP programs. In the next several years, Ohio will have less money to distribute to the more than a million residents who receive SNAP benefits in the state.
“We need to do better and take care of our neighbors,” Campbell said.
No reimbursement system
Athens-area resident Jessie Porter was filling up her online grocery cartfor her family of six in 2024 when she noticed something out of place. Her monthly SNAP benefits were supposed to have refilled that morning. Instead, her balance was empty.
Over a thousand dollars had been stolen.
“It was just shocking,” Porter recalled. “I didn't know why I was targeted or if it was going to happen again.
Her panic only subsided once she was connected to her local legal aid organization, who helped her apply for a federal reimbursement of the stolen funds.
But now, that option doesn’t exist: Congress ended its yearlong program to reimburse victims of SNAP skimming in December of 2024.
“Right now, when families are skimmed, there's really no resources or refund available for them,” Campbell said.
Putting a strain on food banks
The end of the reimbursement program has coincided with one of the worst years in recent memory for hunger. Federal cuts to the Emergency Food Assistance Program has meant fewer resources for food banks. At the same time, rising food prices has led to increased demand.
Grocery costs are up nearly 30% since 2020, according to reporting from NPR.
Now, Hope Lane-Gavin with the Ohio Association of Food Banks says food organizations across the state are seeing victims of SNAP theft in their already long lines.
“Every record that you can possibly think about food banks, we've been hitting it tenfold,” Lane-Gavin said.
Even if they weren’t already strained, Lane-Gavin says food pantries can’t provide the same kind of flexibility around nutrition that SNAP benefits can. For example, it can be harder for families like Porter’s to meet dietary restrictions via food banks.
“I have two kids that are lactose intolerant so I was panicked about them getting the proper milk they need and I have an autistic son who is very picky about food,” she said.
A proposed solution
The state government is considering a solution to ease the burden on families and food banks. A bipartisan bill called the Enhanced Cybersecurity for SNAP Act has been proposed in the Ohio legislature to install chips into EBT cards to better protect SNAP money.
If passed, Ohio would join three other states who have made the transition: California, Alabama and Oklahoma. States like Maryland and New York are planning on following suit in the next couple years.
But, Campbell, the legal attorney, says that could be an uphill battle. In October of this year, the USDA will halve the amount it reimburses states for SNAP administrative costs. That includes money for upgrading EBT cards.
“It's expensive. The feds are not putting up money for it … so if Ohio wants to chip its cards, Ohio's gonna have to pay for it,” she said.
Both the Senate and House versions of the bill are stalled in committee. HB163 hasn’t seen any movement since it was first introduced in spring of last year.
Protecting your EBT card
For now, Ohio and federal officials recommend that SNAP recipients change their PINs if anything looks suspicious and lock their cards electronically via the ConnectEBT app often.
But in rural areas, service can be spotty, making it difficult for people like Jessie Porter in southeast Ohio to access the app while shopping.
Porter said the theft of her benefits has changed the way she shops. She now avoids using her cards at grocery store readers or ATMS.
“I barely go out [grocery shopping] anymore now. I do online hoping that it's more secure that way and have groceries delivered to my house,” Porter said.
She said it’s too much of a risk: she can’t go another month without the means to buy groceries.
