PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Officials are advising people to be on the lookout as welfare scams are on the rise in Pennsylvania.
Joel O’Donnell, with the Department of Human Services, says many of the scams involve people's Electronic Benefits Transfer card which, according to the department’s website, is a benefit delivery system that provides those who receive public assistance with electronic access to their cash and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
O’Donnell explained that scammers try to gain information from people through phishing texts, phone calls and emails to steal or misuse their EBT information.
They are attributing the focus of EBT scams to the rise in food prices as a result of inflation.
O’Donnell said there are many ways to avoid these scams, starting with keeping your personal information close to the vest.
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He said the department will never ask for your pin or to provide personal, identifiable information through a text message.
“We would only ever do this if you reach out to us and contact us regarding your benefits,” O’Donnell added.
O’Donnell said technological advances at their agency since the start of the pandemic have made people more comfortable transferring information on different platforms. But this also can make people more susceptible to fraud.
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“We’re communicating a lot more digitally so it’s easy for fraudsters to try and digitally solicit this information from people.”
If you suspect fraudulent activity, call the welfare fraud hotline at 1-844-DHS-TIPS or submit a report electronically here.