Millions of dollars stolen from Illinois food assistance cards

Millions of dollars in food assistance benefits have been stolen in Illinois by fraudsters using skimming devices.

‘WGN Investigates’ started tracking data from the Illinois Department of Human Services back in May.

We’ve learned that another $3.57 million dollars were stolen from the program during the most recently reported 3-month stretch which runs from April 1 to June 30 ^th .

More than 6,500 claims were filed by residents who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP for food.

The latest numbers indicate that a total of $8.1 million dollars have been stolen from the SNAP program in Illinois in less than a year.

IDHS investigators believe that skimming devices are placed on point of sale machines to steal the data on LINK cards.

They then create duplicate cards and use the dollars to make purchases.  It’s a problem that’s affecting every state.

Missy, who relies on the program, shared her story with WGN a few months ago.  She said, “I just wanted to cry – I feel terrible that other people are victims too.”

IDHS will soon be part of a pilot program that will replace LINK cards with a mobile pay option.  It makes it more difficult for fraudsters to access the SNAP dollars.

For more information on how to protect your card log on to www.link.illinois.gov

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