New York City could soon have its own food benefits detective, with a single job description: track down EBT card skimmers and help SNAP recipients protect what is left in their accounts.
This week, the City Council advanced a plan to create a dedicated SNAP anti-fraud officer inside the Department of Social Services. The position, sponsored by Councilmember Susan Zhuang, would map fraud hot spots, coordinate outreach with neighborhood organizations and publish a yearly breakdown of where theft is happening and how the city is responding. Supporters say the role would finally give New Yorkers one clear point of accountability for a problem that has quietly drained benefits from low-income households across the city.
The measure, filed as T2026-1631, was "pre-considered" by the Council's Committee on General Welfare last Monday, according to City Council records. As PIX11 reported, the draft legislation calls for the officer to identify high-fraud areas, figure out how to quickly notify SNAP recipients and work directly with community groups.
What the anti-fraud officer would do
Under the proposal, the anti-fraud officer would be responsible for an annual public report that pinpoints where skimming and related fraud are concentrated, details how DSS has responded and recommends best practices for prevention and outreach. The role is meant to close the gaps between city agencies and local organizations so that alerts get to victims faster and outreach can be better aimed, according to Councilmember Susan Zhuang's office.
How big the problem is
City officials say the scale of the theft is anything but small. The mayor's office has announced that the city helped nearly 95,000 households recover almost $48 million in stolen SNAP and cash benefits. Separately, the Department of Investigation reported that DSS processed more than 142,000 SNAP reimbursement applications and issued roughly $43.7 million in SNAP reimbursements between August 2023 and March 2025. Together, those figures explain why lawmakers and advocates keep pushing for a mix of enforcement, public education and system upgrades.
DOI investigators have already pulled skimming devices off card readers and have urged the modernization of EBT cards to make this kind of theft harder to pull off.
Who is being targeted
Council members and local coverage say seniors and immigrant New Yorkers are getting hit especially hard. More than 61,000 people filed EBT-fraud claims in a recent period, according to Gothamist. Advocates warn the situation worsened after federal reimbursement for stolen SNAP benefits expired on December 20, 2024, as reported by QNS. Without that federal backstop, newly victimized households may have no clear route to get their stolen food benefits replaced.
State and federal fixes are moving too
Albany lawmakers are trying to tackle the problem from the hardware side. State Senate Bill S1465 and its companion bill in the Assembly would require EBT cards to use EMV chips, the same technology now standard on credit and debit cards, in an effort to curb skimming.
In Washington, the Fairness for Victims of SNAP Skimming Act (H.R.3117) would restore a mechanism for states to replace stolen benefits, according to congressional filings. City investigators and advocates say a dedicated New York City anti-fraud officer would work alongside those broader technical and funding fixes rather than replace them.
What comes next
The Council's General Welfare Committee is now gathering feedback from the administration, advocates and other stakeholders before deciding whether to move the bill forward, according to City Council records. In the meantime, HRA continues to urge cardholders to use the ebtEDGE freeze feature and to report any suspected skimming to its Fraud Unit, and the mayor's office has posted guidance and contact information for victims.
If the Council ultimately signs off on the position and the city pushes for chip-enabled EBT cards statewide, advocates say it could sharply cut down on the most common form of theft, but any long-term solution will still depend on coordination and funding from both the state and federal governments. For now, the bill moves through hearings where agency officials and community groups will get a chance to weigh in on the costs and logistics of creating the new watchdog role inside DSS.
