EBT users can now lock and unlock cards, DHR says

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - The Alabama Department of Human Resources announced EBT users can now lock and unlock their cards in an attempt to prevent fraudsters from stealing their money.

This comes just days after we sat down with four out thousands of victims of EBT fraud who say they’ve had to sacrifice just to survive.

“I don’t want us to be forgotten, you know,” said Christopher Lewis, who is navigating life with a disability. “Because it seems like that’s what’s happening is they’re forgetting about us. I just, I don’t want this to be ignored anymore.”

“I feel like it’s not being taken serious unless it’s happened to them,” said Kamryn Singer, a single mother.

According to DHR, from September to December 2024, $12.4 Million was stolen from Alabamians. All of it taxpayer money.

DHR officials says since these stolen funds aren’t being reimbursed, they stopped counting how much money has been swiped from these accounts.

Last month, DHR announced the launch of a new app said to be a more secure way for users to view their accounts. ConnectEBT allows users to check their balance in real-time, request replacement cards, change their pin and now, lock their cards.

DHR sent out a release on this new feature saying in part quote, “DHR is committed to securing our clients’ benefits and will continue to work with the vendor on additional security enhancements in the future.”

Although users can now lock and unlock their cards, Liberty Hudson, a mother of seven whose snap benefits were stolen, says they shouldn’t have to do that.

“That’s the only advice they gave me was, “oh just spend your card at one time, everything at one time,” or “change your pin after every use, or just change your card after every use,” Hudson said. “We shouldn’t have to do that. We should be protected from that.”

I reached out to Shomari Figures, Katie Britt, Tommy Tuberville, Alabama DHR, Governor Ivey and The White House to share my series with them in hopes someone would help these struggling families, we haven’t heard back from any of them.