Bipartisan Bill to Improve Electronic Benefits Transfer Card Security to Prevent Fraud

Lawmakers have introduced the Enhanced Cybersecurity for SNAP Act, a bipartisan bicameral bill aiming to enhance the security of electronic benefits transfer cards to protect beneficiaries of the Supplemental Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from fraud.

If enacted, the Act will mandate the Department of Agriculture to require states to issue EBT cards with secure chips instead of the current cards with magnetic strips, a technology frequently cloned by criminals to steal food benefits.

The bill is backed by several organizations, including Hunger Free America, the Oregon Food Bank and Hunger Solutions NY, Sen. Ron Wyden’s office said.

Wyden, along with Sens. John Fetterman, D-Penn., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., introduced the bill on the Senate floor on Thursday. In the House of Representatives, Reps. Andy Kim, D-N.J., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., are leading the effort.

At the Department of the Treasury, check fraud is being addressed using artificial intelligence, ensuring checks are received by the rightful beneficiary. The department disclosed that it has recovered over $375 million after adopting an AI-enabled fraud detection process in late 2022.

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