“Skimming has been a real problem across the state for two years,” said Reba Chenoweth, the public information officer for Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services. “We have seen a spike in skimming reports recently.”
Montgomery County Job and Family Services has received 193 reports of possible skimming or fraud since the beginning of July. For the entirety of the year, the county department has received 401 reports total.
In a press conference on Wednesday, the Dayton Police Department announced it has heard more than 60 reports of EBT card theft since June, and 10 in the last several days.
Dayton Police Maj. Brian Johns said that the thefts involved devices installed on ATMs and on sales machines that look like parts of the normal card readers.
He showed a device recently recovered by police which mimicked a card reader’s keypad. The major said that a store employee noticed people messing with the card reader and reported it to police. He also said that a different device involved a small camera on an ATM that was placed to help steal the card users’ PIN.
Once information is stolen, fraudsters use the funds to make large purchases, often in other states and especially in New York or Texas. EBT accounts are being drained from these purchases.
“This is involving theft of not hundreds of dollars, but thousands of dollars,” Johns said.
Reports are coming into other local police departments outside of Dayton as well, Johns said.
“It’s sad,” said Johns. “The people who have the cards really need the cards. It’s just an example of people preying on those in society who need the most help.”
No arrests have been made in the skimming cases, Dayton police officials said.
The Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services advises people who think they may have fallen victim to contact the Investigation and Recovery unit to replace their electronically stolen benefits. That unit can be reached at 937-225-6035.
Victims should also change their PIN numbers immediately if benefits are stolen, request a new card and file a theft report with their local police, Chenoweth said.
“We are working with each client to review their transaction history and assist them in applying for replacement EBT/SNAP benefits,” she said. “Affected victims are eligible to have up to two allotments replaced, but the amount of the replacement cannot exceed the amount of loss. We’re asking clients to be patient as we review these reports.”
To help guard against fraud, clients should utilize the CardLock feature through the ConnectEBT mobile app when not actively making a purchase, according to the Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services. Cardholders should lock their card when not in use, unlock for purchases and after a purchase is successful, they should re-lock their cards.
Johns said shoppers can also watch for anything that looks off with the card reading equipment to protect their funds or benefits. He said that all parts of the card reader should be solidly in place, so if something looks loose, or anything else looks off, then alert the store management. He also said that if the card reader looks loose to pull on it and see if it comes off.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services also warned SNAP recipients to be cautious in March, after the U.S. Food and Nutrition Service warned of a scheme for thieves to target SNAP benefits using card skimmers The ODJFS said anyone whose benefits were stolen could seek reimbursement by calling their county department of job and family services.
