Millions of dollars stolen in Illinois SNAP benefits fraud, leaving vulnerable families at risk
Scammers stole tens of millions of dollars from Illinois families and taxpayers in just over two years, a new report sent to state legislators revealed.
Food benefits fraud continues into 2025, even though stolen benefits are no longer being reimbursed.
"I checked the balance of the EBT card. Seven cents was on it," one recent victim wrote.
"My family and I can't buy groceries this month," wrote another.
Tracking stolen SNAP benefits
CBS News Chicago has been covering stories of stolen SNAP benefits since fall 2022. As a result, legislation passed requiring the Illinois Department of Human Services to track that type of fraud within the SNAP system and submit an annual report to the state legislature.
From Oct. 2022 through Dec. 2024, nearly $21 million was stolen from more than 38,000 households through nearly 124,000 fraudulent transactions.
In 2024, the total of $12.5 million stolen made up 57% of all of the benefits pocketed by fraudsters since the tracking began.
"We're seeing the wave across the country increase significantly where the cards are being stolen and legitimate individuals, those who are eligible for SNAP are left in a situation where they can't pay for their groceries," said Haywood Talcove, CEO of Government Business for LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
Nationally that figure stands at more than $220 million, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture data, which calculates funds replaced through Sept. 30, 2024.
In Illinois, the tracking will continue, including how many people report fraud, but don't get reimbursed.
Two people who reached out to CBS News Chicago about recent cases of benefit theft will be among those counted but not reimbursed. Both filed fraud claims with IDHS.
One is a Chicago woman who had $1,039 stolen in six out-of-state transactions on Jan. 31. All six occurred within 43 minutes of each other at the same Long Island, New York deli and grocery store.
"I am not the only victim," she wrote. "When the clerk gave me the report to file she said this has been severe since 2022."
The second is a Chicago man who had $698 stolen within one minute at three out-of-state businesses in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania respectively. The funds were stolen within a half hour of them being deposited into his account on Feb. 9. He's concerned about feeding his family.
"IDHS isn't replacing any of the benefits for the month. They are just giving people new cards, telling them to wait until next month's benefits," he wrote.
"There's people that live in your city, in Chicago, that are put in a horrible situation because of the lack of progress the federal government has made in securing those cards," said Talcove.
Less secure EBT cards
In Illinois, more than one million households use EBT cards, known in-state as Link, to access their SNAP benefits.
The cards do not contain more secure chips as most, it not all, debit and credit cards do now. Those chips allow customers to tap rather than swipe their cards at a point-of-sale (POS) terminal during checkout.
"Skimming is a big part of the SNAP EBT fraud," said Assistant Special Agent in Charge James Morley of the U.S. Secret Service Chicago Field Office.
When a card is swiped, the data on it, like the card number, is susceptible to being copied by way of a device called a skimmer.
"That skimmer will have Bluetooth in it." Morley said.
When you swipe your card, Bluetooth sends your card information to an unlocked cell phone nearby in the store. That phone then transfers the data to anywhere where there's an internet or cell connection.
"So you could have criminals in another state or another country that are getting that data real time as it's being captured," said Morley.
The real issue, Talcove said, is no security technology with the cards themselves.
"What I don't understand, though, is how in the world when the entire world switched to chip-enabled cards over a decade ago, why the food stamp program didn't do the same thing," said Talcove.
Finding Solutions
This year, states are starting to roll out chip-enabled EBT cards. California is the first. Oklahoma will be next.
Illinois has opted not to switch to chip cards. Instead, the state will be one of five participating in the USDA Mobile Payment Pilot program set to launch later in 2025.
The program allows state EBT cards, like the Illinois Link card, to be placed in a phone's mobile wallet. The phone is then used to tap to pay at checkout.
"I think that is a tremendous idea. And I would actually skip the chip card and force everyone onto a mobile device because that is even more secure," said Talcove.
Talcove warned that no matter which smarter tech states go to, all stores will have to upgrade their older POS terminals which are a preferred target for skimming devices.
Until upgrades happen, the Secret Service is on a nationwide mission to find skimming devices and educate store owners of what to watch for.
In Oct. 2024, secret service agents, along Chicago police and other local law enforcement, went to about 200 businesses and checked hundreds of devices at those POS terminals, ATMs and gas pumps. They found six skimmers all in Cook County.
In 2025, agents have already found dozens more across the country from Las Vegas to Washington, D.C.
As for reimbursing money stolen from SNAP recipients which ran out on December 20, 2024 U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois' 9th Congressional District said in a statement, "I have heard from constituents who have had their benefits stolen and have not been reimbursed. My GOP colleagues in Congress refuse to support legislation to reimburse all those who have been affected, but I will not back down. I plan to continue to work with my colleagues in the state legislature to ensure all Illinoisans can access their benefits."
