By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) officials and unidentified federal law enforcement agencies are currently conducting a joint investigation into a statewide rash of electronic “hijackings” that have emptied the food stamp cards of thousands of Alabamians, including several Escambia County residents.
Daniel Sparkman, Deputy Chief of Staff for the Alabama Department of Human Resources, told Atmore News this week that criminals have been able to obtain personal identification information that has allowed them to quietly steal the “grocery money” from unsuspecting participants in the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food stamps to qualifying individuals.
“We have seen thousands across the state,” Sparkman said. “I can’t tell you about Escambia County specifically, without some research, but this has happened all over the state. We are working with our ‘federal partners’ to find out who is behind it.”
Roy Tolin of Atmore, a food stamp recipient, said he was shocked when he went to buy groceries and found that someone had already used his monthly allowance at a store in another state.
“When I got my card, I tried to use it at the grocery store, and there wasn’t any money left on it,” Tolin said. “[County DHR officials] told me somebody in Philadelphia had used all the money on my card.”
Sparkman confirmed the claim.
“Yes, we’ve had some used in Philadelphi, as well as a lot of other places,” he said. “We don’t have a [primary] location where the criminals are working out of, but they’ve been using the stolen card numbers all over the place.”
Most of the department’s SNAP clients whose food stipend was stolen were not directly to blame, although many were tricked into revealing personal information by scammers who used the telephone as “phishing” gear.
“It’s not necessarily anything our clients have done,” Sparkman said. “These people use skimmers and have also stolen personal identification, like a person’s Social Security Number or date of birth to obtain a person’s [food stamp] card number.”
Skimmers are electronic devices installed by criminals on or inside automated teller machines, gas pumps or retail store terminals. The device reads the magnetic strip or EMV chip and records the PIN. Criminals then use the information to create fake cards, make unauthorized purchases or steal money from the victim’s bank or other account, as was done in this case.
Sparkman also pointed out that when officials stop such electronic theft schemes, the criminals just switch gears.
“It’s still ongoing,” Sparkman admitted of the current criminal activity. “The thing is, when you stop them in one direction, they figure out another way to get the information.”
He added that the process of replacing the hijacked cards with new ones is a lengthy one.
“It takes time for the card to be produced and sent to the client, and it takes a long time to process claims,” he said.
Alabama DHR Commissioner Nancy Buckner told Al.com the thieves are attacking one of society’s most vulnerable groups. She encouraged food stamp recipients and others who receive government benefits to be more vigilant in helping prevent such crimes.
“These thieves are attempting to take advantage of those most in need of assistance, by any means at their disposal,” Buckner said. “It is vital for those receiving benefits to protect their personal information.”
Sparkman said DHR is trying to strengthen anti-theft procedures through tighter security measures that were proposed over the summer, including eventual issuance of “chip cards” to those who rely on food stamps.
“We finally got approval in October,” the department’s second-in-command said. “We’ve been moving since then and hope to have these measures fully implemented later this year.”
DHR provided the following tips in an attempt to help protect against the current scam and any others that might be launched in the future:
*Never provide personal information to an unfamiliar person or organization.
*If a phone call seems like a scam, hang up without giving any information.
*Beware that scammers often pressure victims to “act now!”
*If an offer or claim sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
*Do not trust caller ID. Scammers can use “spoofing” technology to disguise their phone numbers.
*Never give anyone the PIN for your EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) card.
SNAP recipients who are unsure if an information request is legitimate should contact their local DHR office at a phone number that can be found online at dhr.alabama.gov/county-office-contact/.