Ohio Statehouse looks to protect SNAP recipients from scammers ...Middle East

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Statehouse has taken a step forward to protect Ohioans who have fallen victim to scammers.

Thieves have stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from food assistance program recipients and taxpayers. Now, the Statehouse is moving forward on one way to address this.

NBC4 Investigates exposed the issue and is closely following solutions. 

In 2024, almost $14 million was stolen from Ohioans' SNAP benefit accounts. From April to May of this year, $16,000 was stolen.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) says the SNAP cards are outdated and an easy target for skimming.

Now, the Statehouse has put a line item in the budget that would require the ODJFS to create a more streamlined process that allows SNAP recipients to more easily lock an EBT card that has been lost or stolen.

People can do this now through the Connect EBT app or by calling their county's JFS. But calling now is a multi-step process as callers receive another number to call to lock their card.

This new piece of legislation would require ODJFS to create a more streamlined process.

"We're excited about this feature because it's just another added layer for the residents since we ourselves could not help in any way to lock or block their card. So we're excited to see what it holds," Franklin County JFS Director Michelle Lindeboom said. "And we're excited to see what exactly it will mean for the resident because currently we don't know exactly what the pass through will look like." 

The next step is for the governor to approve the budget in order for the ODJFS to move forward.

NBC4's previous reporting has shown that a chip feature in the SNAP cards would stop about 85% of these skimming thefts. It's something a few other states have implemented.

A piece of legislation to implement the chip feature in Ohio was introduced, but it has not moved forward.

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