By AFRO Staff
States are required to reimburse victims of food stamp hackers under provisions of the $1.7 trillion federal spending bill. The legislation would replenish electronic accounts of millions of recipients, many of them low-income families, looted by hackers.
The measure added to the massive spending bill approved by Congress Dec. 22 will mean that state agencies will cover a fast-growing nationwide theft-of-benefits scheme that has resulted, in Maryland the looting in 2022 totaled more than $1 million by Oct. 31, from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other federal assistance programs.
Using card skimmers, password scams and other devices, thieves grab money electronically, often just minutes after the benefits are loaded into users accounts, according to consumer protection experts.
Passage of legislation to reimburse the victims is “a holiday miracle for so many families who have lost their grocery money through no fault of their own,” Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) said.
The congressman, whose district includes Timonium, sponsored the amendment that mandates states to replace money stolen “through care skimming, card cloning or similar fraudulent methods.” In all but five states, the official response to victims’ pleas has been rejection.
“ SNAP theft is a despicable crime that preys on the most vulnerable among us and I am thrilled that many of these victims will be made whole through this legislation.” Ruppersberger said.
Such thefts have soared throughout the nation this year. In Maryland the losses skyrocketed from $92,000 in 2021 to more than $1 million this year, according to the state’s Department of Human Services.
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