State describes rise in EBT thefts, outlines chip-card plan and short-term limits on replacements

At a House Appropriations Committee budget hearing on March 12, 2025, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Secretary Dr. Valerie Arkoosh said the department approved $8,872,130 in replacement SNAP benefits stolen from cardholders between Oct. 1, 2022, and Dec. 2024. She told the committee that a December 20, 2024, federal continuing resolution prevents the federal government from replacing stolen SNAP funds going forward, shifting the consequences to benefit recipients.

Why it matters: SNAP is federal money that delivers $367,000,000 in federal benefits into Pennsylvania each month, Arkoosh said, supporting roughly 2,000,000 people across the Commonwealth. Committee members pressed DHS on how recipients report theft and how the state can reduce future losses.

Arkoosh described a multipronged approach. She said DHS plans an April rollout of an app feature allowing cardholders to “lock” and “unlock” their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards when not in use. She also said the department is exploring chip-enabled EBT cards and other security changes, but cautioned implementation will take time: “Only two states have undertaken the chipped EBT card rollout. And they are finding some technical glitches on the back end,” Arkoosh said. She added that most retailers already have chip-enabled point-of-sale devices, but estimated about 10,000 independent grocers would need to upgrade and that the cost to upgrade a device is about $637 per grocer.

Arkoosh called the thefts “disgusting” and said the department is working closely with law enforcement. She said state investigators and the Office of the State Inspector General were pursuing arrests related to multi‑state theft rings.

Committee members raised operational concerns. Representative Kinkade said a constituent who called DHS’s hotline did not get clear follow-up instructions and lost benefits after failing to complete reporting steps; Arkoosh said the department will review outreach and clarify the reporting process. Representative Krupa asked whether the EBT vendor or alternate vendors have fraud-detection features that could flag suspicious purchases in real time; Arkoosh said Pennsylvania’s current vendor does not provide that functionality and that DHS will examine vendor options going forward.

Arkoosh urged recipients to safeguard PINs and avoid simple codes. She also recommended regular PIN updates and said DHS will restrict simple PINs. The secretary suggested the legislature consider funding to help independent retailers upgrade point-of-sale systems to accept chip cards when the program is ready.

Ending: Arkoosh told lawmakers the department will continue immediate mitigations — outreach, law-enforcement coordination and app-based card locking — while pursuing longer-term technical fixes and vendor changes. The committee also discussed whether the General Assembly should fund retailer upgrades to accelerate chip‑card acceptance.