The Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) is aware of at least two recent events where skimming devices were used in the Kansas City metro area. In both cases, DCF was able to identify EBT cards that were used at the two locations and proactively shut down the cards to prevent cardholders’ benefits from being stolen. At this time, we are not aware of any benefits being stolen as a result of these events.
As of now, we are aware of a total of about 500 EBT cards being impacted by these events, and we are looking into additional cards that may have been impacted. Affected cardholders should receive notice in the mail. Cardholders with Self-Service Portal accounts will receive a text message informing them they have a message to review in the portal.
Affected cardholders will automatically have new cards loaded with their benefits mailed to their homes. Unfortunately, this means these cardholders will not have access to their benefits until their new cards arrive 5-7 business days after their original card was canceled. We know this causes additional hardship for cardholders and we apologize for the inconvenience.
DCF encourages cardholders to use the ebtEDGE app from DCF’s EBT contractor, Fidelity Information Services (FIS), or access the ebtEDGE Cardholder Portal at
ebtedge.com to monitor their account and help further safeguard their benefits by using the following features:
- Freeze the EBT card when not using it. Cardholders must unfreeze the card when they are ready to make a purchase.
- Block out-of-state and online transactions. Cardholders will have to unblock these transactions when they want to make an out-of-state or online purchase.
- Regularly change the four-digit PIN and use number combinations that are not easy for others to figure out. For example, don’t use birthdays or anniversaries.
Third-party EBT apps do not provide the same protection features as ebtEDGE. The ebtEDGE app can be accessed in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
Cardholders are also encouraged to beware of phishing attempts and they should not share their card info or the PIN over the phone or via text message. DCF and FIS will never call or text cardholders and explicitly ask for their card number or PIN.
If an EBT cardholder suspects their card has been compromised, they should immediately report suspected fraud and request a new card by calling ebtEDGE Customer Service at 1-800-997-6666 or online at
ebtedge.com.
A federal provision that provided federal funds to replace SNAP and TANF benefits stolen through card skimming, card cloning and other similar methods expired on Dec. 20, 2024. An extension to the law did not pass as part of the 2025
American Relief Act bill that was signed into law on Dec. 21, 2024. This means stolen benefits cannot be reissued at this time.
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