NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Money drained from an EBT card is now in the hands of a scammer.
Sylvester Payne went to buy groceries last week only to discover that $477 of his SNAP benefits were gone. The only store he used his EBT card at before ordering groceries was a convenience store. There, he bought snacks for his daughter inside at the register at 7:13 a.m. on Friday.
That got him thinking. Did someone tamper with the card reader at that register? And could this happen again to someone else?
At NewsChannel 5 we're committed to listening to your concerns, so we looked into his situation.
After Payne's card was declined at the grocery store, he discovered a fraudulent transaction on his statement. It was a $477 charge at a grocery store in Chicago on Friday at 7:17 a.m.
"If I could get to Chicago that quick, I would like to know how, because that's some magic right there," said Sylvester Payne.
Almost all of us have bought something at a convenience store. So could that purchase cost you all the money in your account?
I talked to a police contact who said while it's fairly new and brazen, law enforcement is seeing more cases of skimmers inside stores at card readers.
"I was aware about the gas pumps and the ATMs, but I've never been aware of something like when you go to swipe your card inside of a gas station," Payne said.
Right now, in an unrelated case, police in Franklin are actively looking for thieves suspected of placing skimmers on credit card readers at several area Kroger stores over the weekend.
The investigation in Franklin prompted Payne to email NewsChannel 5 about his situation.
"It can happen to anyone. That's what I want to make clear to everybody. It's not just credit cards or debit cards that are getting tampered with, it's now EBT," he said.
As it turns out, thousands of Tennessee SNAP recipients have reported fraud this year, according to the Tennessee Department of Human Services. As of August 1, there have been 8,716 fraud reports. That's more than twice as many as all of 2023.
It's worth pointing out that most EBT cards still have the magnetic stripe on the back.
Tennessee is apparently in the process of converting to a new EBT vendor and working on new fraud mitigation technologies that will help protect people in the program.
SNAP recipients who experienced fraud can file for SNAP replacement requests within 30 days of the date the customer discovered the fraud's occurrence to be considered for reimbursement. Customers can submit request using the One DHS Customer Portal. Customers who cannot access the online portal to submit a request can retrieve a paper form at their local TDHS office.
To avoid card skimming and card cloning experts say anyone not using cash should opt for tap-to-pay when possible.
You can help Payne recover by adding to his GoFundMe account.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
