Authorities in Dutchess County are cautioning all Temporary Assistance (TA) and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients about an uptick in stolen benefits through a practice known as skimming.

Skimming involves placing a device called a "skimmer" on retailer card readers to illicitly acquire EBT card information.

To mitigate the risk of benefit theft, officials advise avoiding simple PIN numbers, refraining from sharing PINs, and regularly changing them. Recipients should also scrutinize card reading machines for any anomalies, be wary of unsolicited phone calls or texts seeking personal information and monitor their EBT accounts for unauthorized changes.

If benefits are suspected to have been stolen, recipients should promptly report their card as stolen by contacting the EBT Customer Service Helpline.