Some Californians are coming up short after rampant theft from state-issued EBT card accounts.
California uses EBT cards to distribute funds for programs like CalFresh and CalWORKS, as well as grants to refugees and immigrant crime victims.
Budget documents show EBT fraud has doubled since 2019. Many who are scrambling to pay rent or food bills swamped the Sacramento County Human Assistance Office in Sacramento to voice their complaints. Critics say they should have already implemented security measures like chips in the cards.
The state says it’s been working on more protections, but say they switched to a new system and wait times are longer than usual.