LOS ANGELES, Calif. – This morning, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion authored by Supervisor Hilda L. Solis and coauthored by Chair Janice Hahn to look into the creation of ordinances requiring businesses that accept Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card payments to undergo routine inspections of their card payment terminals to better identify, report, and remedy compromised machines, as well as post skimming awareness notices geared at fostering further awareness of EBT card skimming.

“The illegal use of skimming devices to clone EBT cards and deplete customer accounts economically devastates our most vulnerable by leaving them without the resources they so greatly rely on to survive,” said Supervisor Solis. “I’ve had many residents call my office begging for help because they were robbed of their cash aid and food stamp benefits. This is unacceptable. As the safety-net, it is our responsibility to ensure all consumers are protected. With this motion, we are taking proactive approaches in curbing illegal card skimming and preventing millions of taxpayer dollars from landing in the hands of the criminals who are targeting them.”

Skimmers attached to card readers at ATMs, card payment terminals, and gas pumps enable criminals to capture data from a card’s magnetic strip to create fake debit, credit, or EBT cards that can be used to make purchases or steal cash benefits.  Fortunately, most debit and credit cards are protected from this method of theft since they employ more secure chip/tap technology that does not necessitate swiping the card to make a purchase or withdraw cash. However, Los Angeles County’s currently outdated EBT cards do not afford the same protections, as they do not employ this more secure chip/tap technology and require customers to swipe their EBT card every time they want to access their benefits.

The most effective known way to mitigate skimming lies in updating EBT cards to utilize the far more secure chip/tap technology. While the State of California has recognized the importance of upgrades by allocating over $76 million over the next three years to pursue technology enhancements and security features for EBT cards, until new chip/tap-enabled EBT cards are deployed, skimming will continue to harm consumers.

“I hear from too many constituents who have been victims of skimming and don’t know what to do,” said Chair Hahn. “We need the state to expedite cards with chip and tap technology, but in the meantime our most powerful tool is information. We’re going to make sure our residents know how to protect themselves from skimming and where they can go if they have been impacted.”

The vote directs County departments to report back to the Board of Supervisors on the feasibility of an ordinance requiring businesses to engage in regular, periodic physical inspections of their card payment terminals, including recordkeeping of such inspections, to detect, remove, and report illegal skimming devices, and an ordinance requiring businesses that accept EBT cards to place signs at the point of sale containing notices regarding skimming and the resources available to consumers them should they fall victim.

Skimming theft resulted in $21.1 million in EBT benefits being stolen in 2022, a more than 20-fold increase from 2021 when Los Angeles County lost less than $1 million. In 2023, EBT skimming thefts continue to increase exponentially, with over $25 million in benefits stolen as of June 2023 in Los Angeles County.