The New Jersey state Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee advanced legislation which aims to protect New Jersey’s welfare recipients from fraud, including card skimming and cloning, and ensure those who fall victim to such crimes can swiftly recover stolen benefits.

In recent days, dozens of Lakewood families have seen a rise in welfare fraud, mainly through the use of “skimming” devices placed on point-of-sale terminals, which steal cardholder information from Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards used by recipients of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), WFNJ (Work First New Jersey), and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) benefits.

These fraudulent activities have left recipients without the benefits they rely on.

“The rise of skimming and cloning scams is a direct attack on some of our most vulnerable citizens,” Senator Brian Stack, the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement.

“Providing recipients with critical information about recognizing and avoiding these frauds and creating a clear, streamlined process to recover stolen benefits, this legislation will provide the protection and relief that individuals and families deserve.”

The bill will establish a fraud claims process and require the Commissioner of Human Services to educate recipients of SNAP, WFNJ, and WIC benefits about the risks of card skimming, card cloning, and similar fraudulent methods.

If a recipient’s benefits are stolen through card skimming, cloning, or other fraudulent means, they can file a claim to have their benefits replaced—either with federal or state funds.

“The rash of thefts of these benefits is disturbing. No one should have to go hungry because they are a victim of a scam,” Senate President Nick Scutari added in a statement.

“Creating a fraud claims process will restore benefits to recipients and allow the state to closely track ongoing scams so they can take swift action to prevent it from happening again.”

The legislation mandates that the Commissioner of Human Services report annually on the number of stolen benefits claims, the amount of benefits replaced, and efforts made to protect recipients from fraud.

DHS will work with vendors to implement additional security features on EBT cards, including embedding microchips to prevent cloning, providing fraud alerts, and allowing recipients to limit card usage—such as restricting transactions to certain hours or preventing out-of-state purchases.“