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Galt resident warns council about alleged senior-targeted retail fraud and EBT card misuse
Summary
During public comment at the Oct. 21 meeting, resident Ken Lee told the council about incidents he said were draining seniors' EBT funds and urged vigilance at retail checkouts and with phone solicitors; council acknowledged the concern but made no formal action.
At the Oct. 21 Galt City Council meeting, resident Ken Lee used the public-comment period to warn council members about what he described as retail practices and scams that are harming seniors.
Lee said some retail registers do not display items on the customer-facing screen, preventing customers from seeing charges as they are rung up. He advised shoppers to "stop the register" and ask for a supervisor or switch registers when they suspect incorrect charges.
Lee also raised concerns about solicitors who help seniors sign up for discounted phone programs and take photographs of EBT and medical cards on their personal phones. He said that because some employees do not stay long in such jobs, those images can be used to produce counterfeit cards and drain account funds. "Many of the EBT cards were hacked," Lee said, and described difficulty getting full reimbursement from state programs when fraud occurs.
Council thanked Lee for his comments; no staff action or formal direction was recorded in response during the meeting. The council's public-comment statement (read at the start of the period) cited Government Code section 54954.3, which governs public comment procedures for local legislative bodies.
No additional public comment on this specific allegation was recorded in the transcript, and the council did not indicate follow-up steps at the meeting.
