More than 700 food stamp recipients have recently told the Erie County Department of Social Services their benefits were stolen because of “skimming” from their Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, according to a spokesman for County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz.
So far, the value of the reported skimming thefts from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients in Erie County is estimated at $222,154, according to county executive spokesman Peter Anderson.
Anderson said that if a theft is substantiated, victims are made whole within 30 days.
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According to the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, card-skimming scams directly copy card and personal identification number or PIN, information from Electronic Benefit Transfer cardholders using a skimming device that is placed on top of a store’s card reading machines. The stolen data is then used to access EBT accounts and spend Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits. Skimming can happen anywhere a person swipes an EBT card, including ATMs.
Theft of government benefits is not new, according to Anderson, who was not able to provide a list of stores where card skimming machines have…
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