Policy & Practice | Summer 2024

no understanding of how skimming or phishing works. One respondent said, “I didn’t know that [criminals] can scan our cards or steal from them like that. I thought it was not possible with our EBT cards. Like they were pro tected somehow.” Even among those who had experienced theft in the past year, 41 percent were unaware of how the crimes work. Moreover, consumer access to essential account data varies by state, making it hard to detect and report theft. About half of state EBT customer portals provide the time and date of transactions, but not key details like retailer name and address. Unsurprisingly, 50 percent of surveyed theft victims did not know whether their benefits were stolen at an ATM, store, online, or via phishing. And 14 percent of theft victims could not decipher if their benefits had been drained in-state or out-of-state. ManyTheft Victims Did Not File a Reimbursement Claim More than a third of surveyed theft victims reported that they did not file a claim. The most common reasons were not knowing they could (50%) and believing it wouldn’t be worth the effort (24%). More than 40 percent of surveyed theft victims reported the process of filing for reimbursement to be somewhat or very difficult. “I had to do the investigation, and it’s still not resolved,” one respondent wrote. Twenty-two percent reported spending a “significant” amount of time filing their claim. “It’s too hard to get your stuff replaced,” said Lea, a respondent from Oregon. “[It’s] just as much stress as losing the assistance.” Nearly 90 percent of all survey respondents have taken action to protect their EBT cards. This includes frequently changing PIN (20%), avoiding online shopping (20%), and reporting suspicious outreach (17%). In states where available, this also includes card locking (11%) and trans action blocking (9%). EBT Customers Need Systemic Protection

While a growing number of states and vendors are making card locking available through online customer portals and mobile apps, only a handful offer the feature through the call center. Call center functionality expands the tool’s accessibility and provides a critical back-up option for customers when the portal is down. However, our survey respondents recognize these tools fall short of true systemic protection. “The state defi nitely needs to upgrade their systems to make it very difficult, if not impos sible, for theft to occur,” wrote Nikki from Texas. Urgent Need for Policy Action Systemic reforms are essential to close the security gap between main stream financial services and EBT, to ease outsized burdens on customers who may be at risk, and uphold the integrity of essential support programs. Policymakers have a clear path forward: n Extend the reimbursement

n Simplify claims processes. States and the U.S. Department of Agriculture should take steps to raise awareness about reimbursement and streamline claims processes to ensure victims can access support seamlessly. n Bolster EBT card security. Congress should require the rapid adoption of chip cards and card locking technology across states and deliver federal funding to ensure consumers and taxpayer dollars are protected. It should also mandate a specific term for periodic review and updates of EBT card security measures. n Ensure EBT customer access to data. Congress should unambigu ously ensure EBT customers have the same basic rights and consumer pro tections as others, including reliable electronic access to their balance and detailed transaction data.

Julianna Lai is the Policy and Community Content Specialist at Propel.

authority. Congress should extend the existing reimbursement authority and remove the two-incidence cap. With only two states in sight of adopting systemic protections via chip cards this year, households with low income remain at risk to theft.

Justin King is the Policy Director at Propel.

Toral Patel is the Senior Manager of Policy and Partnerships at Propel.

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Summer 2024 Policy & Practice