Excessive Replacement Card Tracking

In 2012, the department began developing new procedures to prevent and deter SNAP trafficking (i.e. buying or selling of benefits) by monitoring the number of replacement Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards requested by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamp) recipients. The Department recently modified the tracking process so that as of August 2019, recipients who request three (3) or more cards in a 12 month period are sent a notice informing them that their account is being monitored for potential suspicious activity. If an additional card (5th) is requested after this notice is sent, the Department withholds issuance of the card until the recipient contacts the Department to explain the continued requests for additional cards. If the department suspects intentional misuse of the card, the recipient is referred for investigation. Since the modification of the EBT Replacement Card process, there have been 37,195 card replacements (as of October 2019). Of those replacements, 11% have met the threshold of 3 cards or more and issued notification. However, less than 1% have met the threshold for card withholding.