An estimated 1,800 Rhode Island citizens were impacted by a swath of Electronic Benefits Transfer card thefts in the Providence, Pawtucket, and Cranston areas during the first week of March, according to a news statement from the Rhode Island Department of Human Services.
Approximately $500,000 was taken from clients registered in the Supplemental Nutrition aid Program, a food aid program that helps low-income families supplement their shopping budgets. SNAP recipients utilize EBT cards to purchase food at participating supermarkets, shops, and other businesses.
According to the Rhode Island Department of Homeland Security, the crimes were carried out using EBT card skimmers, which are devices connected to retail checkout machines which capture account information when a customer uses their card.
“The majority of these skimming activities took place at one location,” the press statement states, adding that “these devices have been located and removed.” The department did not identify where the machines were situated.
However, these skimming devices may be difficult to detect, particularly when they are placed on infrastructure such as gas station credit card readers, according to Ernesto Zaldivar, associate professor of computer science and engineering, in an email to The Herald.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 allows state SNAP organizations to use federal funds to repay SNAP payments taken by card skimmer or other illegal techniques. But the act’s power expired in December, forcing SNAP state agencies to rely on state money for repayment.
According to WJAR, Rhode Island legislators have not included any cash to compensate these losses in their state budget. It is unclear if theft victims will get any compensation.
R.I. DHS refuses to make more information due to the current investigation.
“We had a husband and wife with three boys come in looking for help,” Lydia Goode, a coordinator with the low-income advocacy charity George Wiley Center, said in an interview with The Herald.
According to Goode, the family who were victims of the fraud were notified by Rhode Island DHS that they would not be paid for the stolen monies.
“How are you supposed to feed three hungry boys with no money for the rest of the month?” said Goode, who also gets EBT benefits.
These deceptive actions “just make you feel stuck,” she said.
In 2024, little under 145,000 Rhode Island residents, or about 13% of the population, received SNAP benefits.
According to Andrew Schiff, CEO of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, it is “too soon to tell” how the March heist would affect food bank consumers. “There are lots of different things that are impacting people right now,” he told reporters.
The food bank has been in constant touch with the Rhode Island Department of Homeland Security regarding the amount of individuals impacted so that the organization can stay prepared, Schiff said.
“I recognize the level of concern, frustration, and uncertainty this can cause for our SNAP community,” Rhode Island DHS Director Kimberly Merolla-Brito stated in a news statement. “I appreciate the hard work of our State and federal partners as we continue to investigate this immediate issue.”
Schiff believes that the Rhode Island DHS “would find a way to replace those benefits that were lost.”
“The people who lost their benefits didn’t do anything wrong,” Schiff told reporters. “They’re victims of a crime.”