Tell Congress: Stop Scammers from Stealing Food Stamps

Criminals stole an estimated $470 million in food assistance from American families last year. And Congress has failed to fund a fix that could stop much of it.

A bombshell ProPublica investigation reveals that more than 990,000 households had their SNAP benefits stolen electronically in 2025. One Florida mother lost $516 while caring for a newborn and a 3-year-old. With her grocery money gone, she had to return to work full time while her baby was still a newborn.

The hypocrisy is outrageous. For years, Trump and Republicans have portrayed people receiving food stamps as potential criminals. They've piled on work requirements, restrictions, and red tape that make it harder for struggling families to put food on the table.

Meanwhile, actual criminals have been stealing hundreds of millions of dollars right under the government's nose. It's time for Congress to change that.

Tell Congress: Stop punishing families who need food and start fighting the real criminals stealing it.

The numbers expose the absurdity. Federal figures cited by ProPublica put confirmed intentional SNAP violations by recipients at roughly $64 million annually. But a separate estimate puts electronic theft from recipients at $470 million in 2025.

Meanwhile, the Trump-backed SNAP restrictions have buried state agencies in new paperwork and administrative requirements. Some states have put crucial security upgrades on hold just to implement those rules. While Washington focuses on policing poor families, protecting their benefits gets pushed aside.

We already know how to stop much of this theft. Most SNAP cards still use outdated magnetic stripes that scammers can easily copy. Banks upgraded credit and debit cards to more secure chip technology years ago. But Congress hasn't funded comparable protections nationwide.

Then Republicans made matters worse. They let federal reimbursement protections expire in December 2024. Now, when scammers drain a family's food benefits, victims can no longer get them replaced through the federal program.

The government failed to secure their benefits, criminals stole their grocery money, and now families are left holding the bag.

Congress already has bipartisan legislation to modernize SNAP cards, but Republicans made attacks on the poor their priority. That's why we need to put pressure on Congress to finally fund stronger security and restore reimbursement for victims.

Add your name and tell Congress to protect families from food stamp theft instead of making it harder for them to eat.

The petition to Congress reads:

“Stop punishing struggling families who need food assistance and start protecting them from the criminals stealing it. Pass and fully fund legislation to protect SNAP benefits with secure chip-enabled cards and stronger anti-theft safeguards. Restore federal reimbursement for electronically stolen benefits. Families should not have to go hungry because Congress failed to protect their food assistance.”