WASHINGTON D.C., DC — U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is pushing for federal legislation to fix a security vulnerability in the SNAP benefits system — one that has impacted many recipients in Oregon, allowing scammers and thieves to drain their benefit accounts and leaving the victims with no money to buy food and few options for a quick solution.
The Enhanced Cybersecurity for SNAP Act, introduced by Wyden and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), would direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture to require states to issue EBT cards with the same kind of security chips found on modern debit and credit cards, rather than relying solely on older magnetic strip technology.
Magnetic strips are vulnerable to "skimming" attacks, where criminals hide devices inside a card slot to surreptitiously read and copy the strip information every time someone swipes their card, enabling the fraudsters to access and drain the card accounts.
Tens of millions of dollars in SNAP benefits have been stolen through this method, according to a news release from Wyden's office. Despite previous pressure from Congress, USDA hasn't made chips a requirement for EBT cards.
"There's no excuse for this two-tier system, where families in need are stuck with outdated, easily hackable technology while folks with credit and ATM cards are better protected," Wyden said in a statement. "Inaction is not good enough for families, not when it can be the difference between a family in need having food for dinner or going hungry."
If the legislation is passed, new EBT cards nationwide would be required to have chips after two years, and all older cards would need to be reissued with chips within five years. USDA would be directed to provide funding to help states make the transition.
The law would also direct USDA to operate a grant program to help small grocery stores and farmers markets update their payment systems to make them capable of reading cards with chips, and it would require states to offer free replacement EBT cards within three days if a beneficiary's card gets stolen or compromised.
USDA would also be ordered to develop updated regulations for anti-fraud technology on SNAP cards and update the regulations every five years to keep pace with new security developments.
KGW reported last year on several Oregonians who became EBT fraud victims. At the time, the state's Department of Human Services told KGW that chip cards would be prohibitively expensive to implement, and argued that they would still be vulnerable to fraud.
Making things all the more frustrating for victims, where for a long time there was no system in place for reimbursing stolen funds. That changed in December 2022, when Congress passed a law that would allow SNAP benefits to be paid back for stolen benefits. This new policy took effect in Oregon last May.
