Southeast Texas families who rely on SNAP to keep food on the table say thieves are draining their Lone Star Card accounts, leaving them without money for groceries and with little hope of getting those benefits replaced under Texas rules.
Here's what to know
Reports collected by KFDM from Beaumont and other Southeast Texas SNAP recipients describe thieves emptying Lone Star Card accounts. Under Texas rules, families who lose benefits this way generally do not get that food assistance restored. The station said people reached out by email, phone, and Facebook to report stolen benefits.
In one case, benefits deposited on Sept. 5 were gone by Sept. 6. A Jefferson County recipient who asked not to be identified separately said his account showed the money being used in California, even though he had not been there.
According to that recipient, the theft is forcing hard choices on people who are already trying to stretch limited incomes.
"It's bad when you're on a fixed income and you got to make every penny count... Now we got to take cash money out of our pockets, ask people for money to buy food. We shouldn't have to do that," the recipient told KFDM.
Because Texas Health and Human Services Commission does not reimburse benefits taken through skimming, cloning, or similar fraud, households that depend on SNAP can be left absorbing the full loss.
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More background
The impact can be immediate for older adults and others living on fixed incomes. The Jefferson County recipient told the station he gets about $140 a month in benefits, a relatively small amount that still matters for everyday needs.
"It don't seem like much, but $142 goes a long ways for a single man... 62 years old, I just want to eat," he explained to KFDM.
Beaumont Police Officer Chancellor Van Houten said people should report the crime to police whether a physical Lone Star Card was stolen or someone used the card information to take funds. He told the station that "SNAP card thefts are treated like debit card and credit card abuse cases."
What can be done?
Through Your Texas Benefits, recipients can lock their Lone Star Card, review account activity, and change their PIN.
Families can also file a police report to document what happened. But once the benefits are gone, that report does not put the food assistance back on the card.
KFDM said HHSC recommended chip-enabled Lone Star cards to better guard against skimming. The station asked what the agency is doing to stop the thefts and what additional protections may be coming, but HHSC had not responded.
It is also seeking an update on the status of that proposal and the next steps the agency plans to take.
"We're gonna struggle, we're gonna scratch, we gonna do what you gotta do to eat," a recipient, who said they were a victim, declared to KFDM. "We gonna eat. Might be a slice of bread every day, but we're going to eat."
Where can I learn more?
For Texas families trying to recover from stolen SNAP benefits, it may help to look at how other households are stretching assistance and handling rising basic costs. The same strain on food budgets, utility bills, and monthly expenses leaves little room for a sudden loss.
• A single mom said food stamps for garden seeds helped her stretch EBT dollars further.
• In California, parents struggling to pay utility bills described another crushing hit to tight budgets.
• In Illinois, State Farm customers faced a policy change affecting household budgets already under strain.
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