EBT cardholders unable to access funds in Kansas, DCF confirms reports of skimming
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (KCTV) - The Kansas Department for Children and Families said Tuesday it was aware of at least two recent events where skimming devices were used in the Kansas City metro area.
As of 9 p.m., the department was aware of the devices impacting about 500 EBT cards and was looking to see if more were affected. DCF stated it was not aware that any benefits had been stolen.
In a statement, DCF said affected cardholders should receive a notice in the mail, and those with Self-Service Portal s should have received a text message letting them know they have a message to review in the portal. DCF stated affected cardholders will have new cards loaded with their benefits mailed to their homes, but it will take between 5-7 business days after the original card was canceled.
Despite this fix for potentially hundreds in the area, one Kansas woman was still stuck without her benefits. Bianca Hunter lives in Overland Park with her two sons. She’s been a SNAP recipient for two months. She said her EBT card was loaded Tuesday morning, so after she dropped her boys off at school and daycare, she went to Price Chopper, spent about $46 on groceries and then went to Sam’s Club, where her card declined.
“My mom asked if I had used the right pen and I said ‘yeah, I know my pin,’” said Hunter. “It wouldn’t go through, so then I checked my EBT app and the first transaction they tried to do was $599.99. It rejected. Then they turned around and did another transaction for $559.49, which was my remaining balance.”
Her funds had been stolen, spent somewhere in Chicago, and the money she had to spend for the rest of the month was gone.
“I called DCF to see what was going on,” said Hunter. “I got a voice recording saying they answer phone calls Monday through Friday, but no one is here to answer your call today.”
She went to the DCF office in Overland Park but didn’t receive much help there either.
“I told there was nothing they could do about it,” said Hunter. “That the law was changed in December, so we can’t replace the funds. I said ‘so y’all aren’t going to replace my food stamps at all? What am I supposed to do with my two kids, how are we supposed to eat?' They said we’ll just have to go to food pantries.”
Hunter said those at the DCF office gave her a paper, told her to lock her card, request a new one, and to make a police report. She went to the Overland Park Police Department and filed a report. While there, she saw a man with the same piece of paper; he confirmed to her his benefits were taken as well. The officer who took her report told her she wasn’t alone, that others have also filed reports.
After working at the same company for more than eight years, Hunter was among 500 employees recently laid off from their jobs. She’s still searching for a new job, so she’s relying on government assistance in the meantime.
“They failed me,” said Hunter. “They literally just loaded the card this morning and they aren’t going to do anything about it. Only thing they wanted to do was blame the store.”
In 2022, Congress ed a law to replace SNAP benefits stolen through card skimming, cloning, and other methods. The law was not extended past Dec. 21, 2024, so funds stolen after that date are no longer eligible for replacement using federal funds. SNAP state agencies can choose to replace stolen benefits using state funds. DCF says stolen benefits cannot be reissued at this time. Hunter wants to see that law reversed.
“To have to rely on government assistance and then I can’t even get that?” said Hunter. “It’s pointless. It makes me feel like less of a woman, it makes me feel like less of a mother and to have to experience this today lets me know they don’t care.”
KCTV5 has reached out to the Kansas Department for Children and Families to see if they can help Hunter but did not hear back Tuesday.
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