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Food Stamp Theft Could be Much Higher Than Reported, Survey Suggests

Thousands of New Yorkers have had their food benefits stolen. Meanwhile, Congress will likely move forward with major cuts to the lifeline program.

Jie Jenny Zou · March 26, 2025

Most victims of theft reported losing at least $250 in SNAP funds, while nearly 30 percent lost over $500. | Photo: Atstock / Canva | Illustration: Leor Stylar

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The true scale of food stamp theft could be much higher than previously thought, putting families at greater risk for going hungry or racking up debt, according to a new survey that polled nearly 12,000 benefit recipients across the country.

The survey was conducted by Propel, the private company behind a popular app used by public assistance recipients to track their benefits. According to Propel, its users account for one in four households nationwide that receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP.

For years, New York has been a hotbed for SNAP theft with tens of thousands of recipients reporting stolen funds. Since 2022, the state has reimbursed $40 million in benefits that were likely stolen from skimming — a rising form of fraud that’s been tied to organized crime rings where thieves place hidden devices on card readers at checkouts.

But congressional approval for SNAP refunds dried up in late December, leaving needy households with no recourse amid rising food insecurity and worsening food inflation. Hopes that the funding could be restored during negotiations in Washington appear to be largely dashed since a Republican-led budget measure passed last week.

A New York state benefits card with a cut-out yellow outline where a digital chip would go. In the background, a black and white photo of produce in a grocery store.

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The full extent of SNAP theft likely goes beyond reported refunds, the Propel survey suggests. Over 2,500 of the almost 12,000 survey respondents reported having their SNAP benefits stolen within the past year. Nearly 40 percent of theft victims did not file for reimbursement with the majority reporting that they weren’t aware refunds were an option.

Most victims of theft reported losing at least $250 in SNAP funds, while nearly 30 percent lost over $500. Propel’s internal data also suggests thefts may have increased from August to December 2024 as user-submitted reports of unidentified transactions doubled.

More than half of affected households said the theft forced them to skip or cut back on meals, and 46 percent reported borrowing money or going into debt to cover costs.

Roughly 3 million New Yorkers used SNAP last year, with the average household receiving $376 in monthly benefits. One survey respondent from New York reported losing $124 the first time their benefits were stolen and then $275 on a second round. Another New Yorker told Propel they visited a local food pantry after also having their benefits stolen twice.

One New York respondent wrote, “When my funds were stolen, it left me with $0.10. What am I supposed to do with that? I was left depressed.”

Over half of the state’s SNAP recipients live in New York City, where the poverty rate recently hit a new high of 25 percent, according to the latest data by the Robin Hood Foundation and Columbia University.

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“That uptick in poverty was largely driven by the dramatic increase in the cost of basic goods,” said Chloe Sarnoff, director of policy research at Robin Hood. Food costs is one of five metrics included in the study’s basic necessities metric, which rose overall by 7.5 percent in 2023 — the largest single-year increase researchers have seen since they began tracking poverty in 2012.

“There’s an enormous diversity in the terms of the people experiencing food insecurity,” added Sarnoff, noting New Yorkers on SNAP include families, working single adults, and the elderly.

Both Congress and New York have been slow to thwart skimming at its source. Upgrading magnetic-strip benefit cards with encrypted chip technology (standard in US credit and debit cards since 2015) could significantly curb skimming, but New York has yet to commit to the change.

California, Oklahoma, and several other states are moving forward with chip-enabled cards. The transition has taken states years of close coordination with the US Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP nationally and was recently caught up in the Trump administration’s wide-scale federal workforce cutbacks.

State budget negotiations are ongoing but do not include any proposals by the governor or the legislature to specifically fund the chip upgrade, a process officials estimated could cost New York at least $20 million. The Assembly indicated it was supportive of efforts to adopt new cards in its proposed budget, but stopped short of earmarking funds for the effort. Under current rules, SNAP benefits are fully funded by the federal government while administration costs, like card upgrades, are split evenly by states and USDA.

In lieu of more secure cards, Governor Kathy Hochul’s office has instead directed SNAP recipients to lock their cards when not in use, a safety feature that has been available since last year.

The Propel survey results suggest nearly all SNAP users are already taking multiple steps to protect themselves against theft — like covering the keypad when entering their PIN or checking for suspicious-looking card readers. Over half of theft victims reported losing their benefits the same day the money was deposited, which Propel wrote suggests “criminals are strategically timing theft to take the maximum amount possible.”

Concerns about devastating cuts to SNAP loom as Congress looks to fund another round of Trump-era tax cuts. Under one proposal, states could find themselves on the hook for funding a portion of SNAP benefits, an arrangement policy experts say “would hit state budgets hard at a time when state finances are already highly strained.”

Experts estimate that forcing New York to cover just five percent of its share of federal SNAP benefits could cost the state $366 million this upcoming fiscal year alone. In 2018, Trump proposed getting states to shoulder as much as 25 percent of SNAP benefits.

Sarnoff noted cuts to SNAP won’t only have a ripple effect on poverty rates, but also impact the large network of retailers who accept the benefits — many of them locally owned businesses.

“Studies show that every dollar invested in SNAP generates up to $1.54 in economic activity,” she said. “They don’t just benefit the individuals receiving them, they benefit the community overall.”

Disclosure: The Robin Hood Foundation supports social services reporting at New York Focus. Read our ethics policy here.