The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services announced new anti-fraud measures today to protect Ohioans receiving SNAP and Summer EBT/Sun Bucks benefits.
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The enhancements, which will take effect on May 13, include requiring individuals to unlock their cards to complete out-of-state or online purchases.
These new security features aim to curb a significant increase in fraudulent activity, which has led to millions of dollars in losses for vulnerable Ohio families.
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The new automatic card-lock feature will default Ohio Direction Cards, also known as Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards, to a “block high-risk transaction” status for out-of-state and online purchases.
Cardholders will be prompted to manually unlock their card for these transactions and can set an automatic relock time of 30, 60, or 90 minutes.
This change addresses a pattern of suspicious activity that has resulted in more than $6.3 million in losses across 12,900 Ohio EBT accounts in the past six months alone.
The state’s data analysis, which reviewed card usage, purchasing trends, and skimming reports, indicated that a large volume of fraud originates from out-of-state retailers or online providers.
ODJFS provided tips for protecting SNAP benefits, including downloading the ConnectEBT app to enable card-lock features, creating a strong, unique PIN, and changing the PIN monthly before each scheduled deposit.
Recipients should never share their card number or PIN, as ODJFS will never ask for this information.
Cardholders are also advised to inspect card readers for signs of tampering before use and to cover the keypad when entering their PIN.
The new security measures will officially go into effect on May 13.
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