Congress passed a law in late 2022 to help SNAP participants who are victims of card skimming, cloning and other similar methods. To implement this new law, states are working quickly to develop and implement processes to help people whose SNAP benefits were stolen seek and obtain relief. FNS will list plans on this page as they are approved
FNS is working closely with our state and federal partners, SNAP retailers, EBT processors, and other industry experts to protect SNAP benefits and combat SNAP fraud.
FNS recognizes the power of SNAP in helping people stretch their food budget to purchase healthy foods and does not tolerate fraud.
FNS monitors SNAP-authorized retailers and transaction data and investigates potential concerns as illustrated in this SNAP infographic highlighting retailer compliance.
Infographic explaining improper payments in the SNAP program.
USDA is aware of increased reports of EBT theft due to card skimming, cloning, and similar fraudulent methods. On Dec. 29, 2022, President Joseph R. Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (the Omnibus), which includes provisions for the replacement of stolen EBT benefits with federal funds.
USDA's FNS and ACF at the Department of Health and Human Services are aware of increasing reports of benefit theft by criminal actors through EBT card skimming schemes. After discussions with EBT processors and fraud prevention stakeholders, FNS and ACF have identified prevention measures that can be adopted to improve card security while we work towards longer-term strategies.
Any firm may request administrative and judicial review, if it is aggrieved by any of the actions described in SNAP regulations. The Administrative Review Branch ensures that FNS follows the provisions of the Food and Nutrition Act, SNAP regulations, and agency retailer policy, and that the agency's administrative actions are equitable and consistent.
This collection is a revision of a currently approved collection to provide FNS and WIC state agencies with an ongoing/annual data set that can be used to assess state agencies' compliance with WIC vendor management requirements and estimate state agencies' progress in eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse.
FNS published the SNAP: P-EBT Integrity Final Rule which requires FNS to treat P-EBT benefits the same as SNAP benefits for the purposes of identifying and sanctioning program violators.