Someone stole up to $50K in meal assistance from people in KCK, DCF investigating
The Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) is investigating whether someone used a potential skimming device to steal from people relying on meal assistance near Kansas City, Kansas, according to a Jan. 8 news release.
The alleged scheme, which DCF learned of on Jan. 5, affected more than 300 residents in the Kansas City metro who receive food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
As of last week, someone had stolen $46,000 in SNAP benefits from 328 people and $4,400 in TANF benefits from 17 people.
“Further investigation indicates possible skimming activity associated with Kansas Benefits Cards … in the Kansas City, Kansas area,” according to the release.
The department had no additional information on the case as of Monday afternoon.
DCF began investigating after receiving notifications from Kansas residents that their benefits had been used in Pennsylvania, according to a news release. The department also deactivated some cards that were used at the business the alleged skimming occurred in, saying it did so to avoid future benefit thefts from those cards.
People who were affected, and whose cards were frozen, will likely receive a notice in the mail and get a new benefits card mailed to their homes, according to DCF.
The government administers EBT, or electronic benefits transfer, cards to residents who need additional assistance paying for food. People can steal from these cards, as well as debit or credit cards, using a skimming device.
Typically, people attach skimmers to card terminals that people put their payment cards in when they pay for their goods at the store. Skimmers, which are illegal to place in a public business, collect people’s card information so someone else can take it and use it.
“DCF is looking into one or more stores in a concentrated area where the skimming may have occurred,” according to the news release, although the agency did not specify what businesses those were.
That money, once it’s stolen, is gone for good, according to DCF. A federal provision that reimbursed people for any SNAP and TANF money stolen from them expired in late 2024.
This means that if someone loses $1,000 in benefits through a skimming or cloning scheme, the federal and state governments won’t repay that $1,000 to the person who was robbed of it.
DCF recommends that people freeze their EBT cards when they’re not using them, block out-of-state and web transactions and regularly change their four-digit pin to avoid having EBT funds stolen.
The department also encouraged cardholders to avoid using third-party EBT apps and to beware of phishing attempts.
“If a cardholder suspects their EBT card has been compromised, they should immediately report the suspected fraud and request a new card by calling ebtEDGE Customer Service at 1-800-997-6666 or online at ebtedge.com,” according to DCF.
Similar scam a year ago
This isn’t the first time the Kansas City metro has been affected by illegal skimming devices. DCF in February 2025 said it identified three places where someone had used skimmers to collect EBT funds.
DCF at the time had to shut down about 1,000 EBT cards used at the three locations, and investigators found the skimming devices at each of those businesses.
“Through quick action, DCF prevented the theft of a total $369,532 in benefits for about 830 cardholders,” Secretary Laura Howard said in a news release from the time.
That said, 162 households had a combined $38,653 in benefits stolen from them in the incident that they didn’t see reimbursement on.
