NORWOOD, Mass. — Norwood police are investigating yet another food stamp theft in a string of crimes that have cost more than $2,000 in benefits over the last few months.
The latest victim, Amber Martin, told Boston 25 News that $227 in SNAP benefits were stolen from her account last week, amounting to more than half her monthly deposit.
“It was a gut punch to my stomach, because I never thought it was going to happen to me,” Martin said. “It made me feel terrible, and honestly, I kind of cried later on that night about it.”
Martin, a full-time working mom who supports a four-year-old daughter, two-year-old son, and adult sister with autism, said she discovered her account had been drained to $0.78 when trying to use her EBT card to buy groceries.
She then needed to explain to her children that they would need to put the food back on the store shelves.
“It’s going to be difficult for the rest of the month,” Martin said. “I get my food stamps on the 13th of next month. So, I’m going to have to use the paycheck that I use to pay bills for the house to spend on food for my family.”
Martin said her last transaction with her EBT card before the theft was at CVS in Norwood, where she believes her card may have been skimmed.
The Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) has been urging retailers to upgrade their systems to accept the tap functionality of the new, secure chip/tap EBT cards, which were sent to clients last summer to protect against skimming devices criminals can place on card readers to steal data when swiping the magnetic stripe.
Martin said the pay terminal wouldn’t accept the chip function and instead prompted her to swipe her card, which she did.
But CVS told Boston 25 News it found no evidence of skimming and that its stores accept the new cards with their swipe feature, as the law allows.
“We take the security of our customers’ payment information seriously,” the company said in a statement. “CVS Pharmacy accepts Massachusetts’ new chip-enabled SNAP EBT cards by swipe, consistent with USDA guidance during the transition to chip technology. Card data is encrypted from the moment it is read at our payment terminals. At this time, we have no indication of a security incident at this location.”
Martin reported the theft to DTA and Norwood police.
The police department has assigned a detective to investigate several recent food stamp fraud cases with losses of at least $2,383.25.
Detectives have contacted DTA’s fraud department and are working with the Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor’s Bureau of Special Investigations.
Victims are no longer reimbursed for stolen food stamps because the federal government stopped funding that measure in Dec. 2024, although police may recoup stolen cash benefits.
One victim of benefits fraud reported a partial reimbursement to police.
Police are also preparing search warrants to obtain surveillance video connected to fraudulent ATM transactions in some cases.
Because all victims reported having their physical cards in their possession, police said the thieves may have used stolen card data to create clone cards for ATM transactions and withdraw cash benefits.
As Martin awaits her next benefits deposit, she is leaning on her generous community, including a neighborhood food pantry that provided groceries for the family.
Meanwhile, she hopes sharing her story prevents others from being victims.
“I want others to be more aware of it and make sure they’re locking their cards,” Martin said.
DTA urges its clients to lock their EBT cards between purchases and change their PIN regularly, among other precautions: Protect Your Benefits From Scams | Mass.gov.
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