Residents of Arkansas affected by SNAP benefit thefts can now get assistance

Little Rock, Arkansas – As you may guess, finances are already tight for those who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP.

Scammers have recently increased the complexity of life for SNAP beneficiaries in Arkansas.
New federal legislation allows Arkansans receiving SNAP food assistance whose benefits were stolen to ask for the money to be restored to their accounts.

The Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) indicated that a new, temporary program might assist hundreds of people, which is why they are able to do so.

According to Mary Franklin, the Director of the DHS Division of County Operations, “We want to do the outreach and feel like the outreach is important because there may be people who didn’t report it because, outside of this legislation, the federal law prohibited us from replacing the benefits.”

Those whose benefits were taken between October 2022 and the end of September 2024 may now request reimbursement.

Franklin detailed the approximately 300 thefts that were reported throughout that period.
“The fact that those benefits were taken is a victimization for their family. Therefore, we’re delighted to be able to take part in this endeavor to attempt and replace those advantages,” Franklin stated.

Franklin described the scam’s electronic fraud techniques, which include cloning and skimming.
“Skimming is when someone puts a device over a point of sale machine where someone would put their card in order to make a purchase, and then that device steals the information off the card,” Franklin explained.

Cloning is the practice of using a duplicate card to obtain benefits when someone steals information from another person’s EBT account.

“We don’t want anyone to be a victim of a crime,” she stated.

She advises against using a repetitious or obvious pin and against disclosing your pin number for this reason.

“It’s also a good idea to check your balance on your account, look at the transactions, make sure you don’t see anything suspicious, and if you do see something suspicious, change your PIN number immediately to protect the balance that’s on your card,” she stated.

DHS advised reporting the theft by November 27, 2024, if you have been affected.