Another wave of EBT SNAP fraud hits PA families

Yahoo

11-02-2025

(WBRE/WYOU) — Yet another wave of EBT SNAP benefits fraud has made its way across NEPA just after the benefits were restored at the start of the month.
After last month's string of EBT fraud, security measures were put in place to help protect the accounts of those receiving SNAP benefits.
Now, 28/22 News is learning that those security measures may not have been enough.
After countless residents had their SNAP benefits drained in January, the Department of Human Services (DHS) urged anyone using the cards to both replace them and change their pins.
But when February's benefits began to hit EBT accounts, the problem persisted.
'I get $517 in food stamps and I also get $150 in cash every two weeks. I woke up on the third to all of it gone,' said Scranton resident Ammie Feduchak.
The single mother of three says she was not affected in January, but just to be safe, changed the pin on her account.
She also says she only uses her EBT card to shop for groceries online.
SNAP benefits drained by card skimmers
But despite being safe, her account was still compromised.
'We have no answers, we have no plan, there's no proactiveness. It's not like, you know, a debit card where we can lock it, you know what I mean? There's no option like that for food stamps,' Feduchak explained.
DHS, which oversees SNAP benefits for Pennsylvania, says they are working on a lock/unlock feature on their Connect EBT app to prevent unwanted transactions.
They also plan to text snap recipients to warn them of skimming devices, stating in part:
'With this planned text alert directly to a recipient's cell phone, we are doing everything we can to inform Pennsylvanians and arm them against these bad actors.'
DHS Secretary Doctor Val Arkoosh
These plans may help going forward, but for now, many are left without money for food- unable to be reimbursed.
One local non-profit is working with lawmakers and those affected by the fraud though, to hopefully provide some answers.
'As soon as I saw that this was huge here, I reached out to State Representative Kyle Donahue's office, and as soon as I told him what it was about I had a meeting with him the next day,' said Elizabeth Rodriguez, Co-Founder and President of Giving Back to the Community.
EBT card skimming: What we've learned
Rodriguez says Donahue was able to provide victims with gift cards to supermarkets and pizzerias and is in the process of working with the state to find a solution to a problem that has gone on for far too long.
Rodriguez also tells 28/22 News that a community meeting with Representative Donahue is in the works, and will be passing that information along to us when it becomes available.
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