SNAP recipients encouraged to protect their PIN

The Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) reminds SNAP clients to protect their SNAP benefits. Over the past few weeks, the MDHS Office of Inspector General reports an increase in reports of skimming that have resulted in stolen SNAP benefits. 

Please report stolen SNAP benefits through our Fraud Tip Report form so that we may continue to identify and fight benefit theft. 

Following instructions from our federal partners, beginning June 30, 2025, MDHS can no longer replace stolen SNAP benefits, even if the theft occurred before December 20, 2024. 

SNAP participants are encouraged to take action that may help prevent card skimming. Here are some examples: 

• Change your PIN frequently or after each use. 

• Avoid using PINs that are easy to guess, such as 1234 or sequences of the same digit like 0000 or 1111. While these may be convenient for you to remember, they also make it simple for thieves to access your account and steal your funds.  

• Keep your PIN secret. Do not share your PIN with anyone outside your household. Cover the keypad when you enter your PIN on a machine. 

• Check your EBT account regularly for unauthorized charges. If you notice any, change your PIN immediately to stop the thief from making new purchases. 

•  Check card reading machines to make sure there’s nothing suspicious overlayed or attached to the card swiper or keypad. The overlays can be difficult to detect but are often bigger than the original machine and may hide parts of the machine. 

If your EBT card has been compromised, call the Mississippi EBT card holder service center at 1-866-512-5087 as soon as possible to report the card as compromised. This will deactivate the card and send a new card to the account holder. 

If MDHS can verify that your SNAP benefits were stolen due to skimming, card cloning, or other similar methods between August 15, 2023 and December 20, 2024, you may be eligible for replacement benefits up to a certain amount: either two months of your household’s benefit amount or the amount of the benefit theft, whichever is less. File a Lost Benefit Attestation form to report stolen benefits.

Additionally, reporting the incident to the MDHS Office of Inspector General fraud hotline at 1-800-299-6905 can help with ongoing investigations.