CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Many people who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) report that their EBT cards are being hacked.

These tricks can put a huge strain on a family’s food budget… and it can be difficult to recoup the money.

Under current law, households can apply for compensation for stolen benefits, but only if the theft occurred between October 2022 and September of this year.

This law limits compensation to either the amount stolen or two months’ benefits, whichever is less.

In Hamilton County alone, more than 35,000 people rely on SNAP benefits.

That’s almost one in ten people in the district.

On Tuesday, we caught up with Alice Walker, who wrote to our editors about this issue. She described how she was almost duped when she received a text message claiming she needed to recertify her EBT card.

They send you this link, this link. It looks like a human service link, but it’s not human service. And when you go in there and click on it, it asks you to enter this information.

She did what experts recommend: She called the agency number she already had.

They claimed I was already certified and approved, but this scammer tried to convince me it was time to re-certify.

According to Michele Mason, president of the Better Business Bureau (BBB), thieves often use scams to try to get their hands on your money — or in this case, benefits that are funded with tax money.

She says card skimming is also a problem with hacking EBT cards.

If you feel that something has been tampered with when swiping the card, or if it looks like something has been tampered with, you should not use the card and speak to the merchant immediately.

The BBB also said that SNAP EBT cards do not currently have chip technology and are therefore at greater risk of card skimming.

A representative from the Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS) told us that they approved approximately 11,000 SNAP fraud reports and reimbursed a total of $1,825,000 in SNAP benefits.

If you believe your card has been hacked, you must request a replacement card within 30 days, according to the DHS.

According to DHS, the agency is currently working on switching to a new EBT provider and implementing new anti-fraud technologies.

Mason gives this advice:

You have to remember that this technology is similar to a debit card, which means you are at risk that it could be compromised and you could lose your money very quickly.

Count on us to keep you updated on the DHS EBT card upgrade.