GREENSBORO, N.C. — Chances are your credit card and your debit card have a chip. It is much harder for a thief to steal your number and your money. But when you only have a magnetic strip to swipe, thieves can put skimmers on machines and easily take your cash.
That's what happened last year. Folks tried to use their SNAP benefits credit cards and discovered thieves skimmed their cards.
In all, NCDHHS estimates the amount stolen totaled $338,000 in 2022, and for 2023, it’s already up to $820,000.
This money was the money families were using to buy food. It disappeared. This money was also your taxpayer dollars. The skimming of SNAP benefits wasn't just here in North Carolina, it goes on nationwide.
Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act in December of 2022. It requires the USDA to work with every state to come up with a plan to use federal funds to reimburse the stolen money.
The law requires states to replace such benefits that were stolen between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2024. States can now use federal funds to provide these replacements following the procedures in their approved state plan. Replacement benefits cannot exceed the actual amount stolen or the household’s benefit allotment amount for the two months immediately preceding the theft, whichever is lesser.
According to the USDA’s website, 14 states have submitted and have their plans approved. North Carolina isn't on this list, but an NCDHHS spokesperson told 2WTK the state has a plan and is awaiting approval.
Once approved, states like North Carolina will be able to use federal funds to reimburse the people who had money stolen.
Unfortunately, skimming can still happen. All the SNAP benefit cards used nationwide have magnetic strips, not chips.