Page 22 - The Indian EYE 013125

NORTH AMERICAN Newsline JANUARY 31, 2025 | The Indian Eye 22

NYC Mayor Announces New York City has

Connected Victims of Benefits Theft to Nearly

$48 Million in Replacement Funds

Department of Social Services Has Approved Claims for Nearly 95,000 Households

Whose Food and Cash Benefits Were Electronically Stolen

OUR BUREAU
NEW YORK, NY

ew York City Mayor Eric Adams and New
York City Department of Social Services
N(DSS) Commissioner Molly Wasow Park
have announced that the city has helped nearly
95,000 low-income households whose vital public
benefits were electronically stolen recover nearly
$48 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) and Cash Assistance (CA) ben-
efits over the last 16 months. Nearly 2 million New
Yorkers rely on these federally funded benefits
to keep themselves and their families healthy,
housed, and fed, but because of security flaws
present in Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT)
cards, they remain susceptible to having their ben-
efits stolen when they swipe their cards to make a
purchase.
“I was one of six siblings raised by a single
mother who struggled to put food on the table,
and since I took office, I have followed through
on my promise to make sure New York City does ability Assistance are working diligently to protect the federal American Relief Act 2025. As a result,
everything it can to make sure working-class fam- EBT cardholders from these malicious scams.” HRA is no longer able to issue replacement SNAP
ilies are not left hungry like we were,” said Mayor For the households that depend on SNAP and benefits for any theft that occurred on or after De-
Adams. “I am proud of our administration’s work CA, theft of benefits can have serious and lasting cember 21, 2024. New Yorkers can still file claims
to connect nearly 95,000 vulnerable families with impacts, but the availability of replacement bene- for SNAP benefits stolen on or before December
replacement money for food and daily necessities fits has allowed the city to mitigate the damage for 20, 2024, but they must be submitted within 30
that were cruelly stolen from them. nearly 95,000 households across the five boroughs. days of the discovery of the theft.
Across the country, benefits are being sto- In New York City, electronic benefits theft typical- This change does not impact claims for re-
len from the people who need them the most, ly occurs via “card skimming,” where bad actors placement CA benefits, which are funded and
but New York City is leading the way in ensuring copy a cardholder’s card and personal identifica- authorized by New York state. Households are
that people are made whole again with nearly $48 tion number (PIN) information using a skimmer limited to one CA benefit replacement per federal
million in vital funds. This is just another way we placed over a business’ card reader. This stolen fiscal year (October 1 to September 30).
are making our city more affordable and the best data is then used to access the victim’s EBT ac- Because replacement SNAP benefits are no
place to raise a family.” count and steal their benefits. longer available, it is incredibly important that
“We take great pride in having replaced near- Following the passage of both federal and New Yorkers exercise caution when using their
ly $48 million in stolen SNAP and CA benefits state legislation allowing for the replacement of EBT cards. Skimming overlays are often diffi-
because we know that New Yorkers rely on these stolen SNAP and CA benefits, the New York City cult to detect at a glance, so New Yorkers should
supports to make ends meet, and that losing them Human Resources Administration (HRA) began carefully inspect card readers before swiping their
can have serious and lasting impacts on entire accepting claims for replacement benefits on Au- EBT card. HRA has produced a flyer to help New
families as they scramble to make do with less,” gust 21, 2023. As of January 8, 2025, the agency Yorkers learn to spot the signs of a skimming
said DSS Commissioner Park. “With the feder- had approved a total of 120,000 distinct skimming overlay.
al authorization for replacement SNAP benefits claims and $47.7 million in replacement benefits, Anyone can report a suspected skimming
expiring, New Yorkers are again at risk of losing with replacement SNAP benefits representing overlay by calling the HRA’s Fraud Unit at 718-
these critical benefits for good. We urge Congress roughly 90 percent — or $43 million — of that to- 557-1399. The agency continues to work with the
to take decisive action to support these vulnerable tal value. New York City Department of Investigation to re-
households and reauthorize replacement SNAP However, the federal authorization that al- spond to data inquiries, share information about
benefits while EBT cardholders are still suscep- lowed for the replacement of stolen SNAP ben- the location of probable skimming devices, and
tible to skimming. We very much appreciate that efits ended on December 20th, 2024, when Con- hold thieves accountable for preying on vulnera-
our partners at the Office of Temporary and Dis- gress did not extend the authorization as part of ble households.

www.TheIndianEYE.com