Food Stamps Scams: Identifying Common Ones and Steps for Victims

Food Stamps Scams: Food stamps, which are actually called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), help a lot of low-income people and families across the country.

Like many other government aid programs, SNAP can be abused and used fraudulently. Do not fall for the most common food stamp scams. Instead, learn what to do if you fall for one.

Some scams that involve food stamps are:

• Fraudsters who use food stamps often trade them for cash or things that aren’t allowed in return for food stamps. Traffickers can get around the program’s main goal of giving healthy food to people in need by buying goods with SNAP benefits and then selling them for a profit.
• There are people who lie on their SNAP applications to get benefits they aren’t necessarily entitled to. Food stamp fraud can happen when people lie about their income, the size of their family, or their assets.
• In cases of beneficiary fraud, SNAP users abuse their benefits by buying things that aren’t allowed, like alcohol, tobacco, and things that aren’t food. Benefit recipients may also get too much money if they don’t report changes in their income or family composition.
• Some stores take advantage of people with food stamps by swapping benefits for cash, charging too much for items that are eligible, or letting people use SNAP Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards to buy things that aren’t eligible.

Check Out:How to Check Your SNAP Application Status for Food Stamps?

What victims should do is take these steps:

If you think or have proof of food stamp fraud, you can call the USDA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG), your state’s SNAP fraud number, or your local police.

Give as much information as you can to the police so they can help you solve the case. This includes names, addresses, and specific examples of theft.

If you think that your SNAP benefits have been misused or stolen, you need to take steps to protect your personal information and EBT card. Don’t give out private information to people you don’t trust, change your PIN often, and keep your card safe from being lost or stolen.

People who have been a target of food stamp fraud should get help from their local social services agency, a legal aid organization, or an advocacy group that focuses on protecting consumers and recovering fraud.

Food stamp scams are a major threat to the honesty of the SNAP program and to the health and safety of people who are weak. Staying informed about common scams and understanding what to do if you become a victim can help fight fraud and make sure that food assistance gets to the people who really need it.