Alabama Department of Human Resources No Longer Will Recover Stolen Food Stamps

After Congress failed to reauthorize the replacement of stolen Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in its temporary spending package, which President Joe Biden signed last week, the Alabama Department of Human Resources is no longer recovering stolen food stamps for Alabama residents. The decision to not replace the stolen Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, also known as food stamps, comes amid widespread benefit theft in Alabama, where ADHR paid out over $5 million to victims of theft across nearly 14,000 claims in November alone using federal money. Alabama’s most common fraud techniques include electronic benefits card cloning and skimming, which involves installing devices on point-of-sale terminals without authorization to steal EBT card information. EBT theft also frequently occurs through internet data breaches, in which the personal data of SNAP recipients—including social security numbers—is disclosed online.