PETERSBURG, Va. — Theft of food benefits is on the rise in Virginia again, according to the state department of social services, leaving thousands of families struggling to put food on the table. The uptick in fraudulent activity comes as state officials prepare to introduce new measures to safeguard benefits.
Petersburg mother Cachet Collins said she was left with nothing after the food benefits she receives through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) were depleted on July 1.
"Look what it left. Zero, zero, zero," Collins said, showing CBS 6 a screenshot of her electronic benefit transfer (EBT) account.
Her account showed several transactions at out-of-state retailers that she said she never made or authorized.
The suspicious transactions occurred in the early morning hours right after her monthly benefits of roughly $1,000 renewed.
"I couldn't even sleep the rest of the night because that's a lot of benefits, and then with feeding five kids and a grandchild, times are hard right now. Food is definitely high and expensive," Collins said.
Collins filed a police report and contacted her local social services department right away, but she learned the stolen money could not be replaced.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, the federal agency that oversees and funds SNAP, used to reimburse victims but stopped in December 2024 after Congress declined to continue funding for those efforts.
The federal government then left states with the option to continue reimbursements, but VDSS said it is unable to cover the costs of replacement benefits.
"It's not fair at all. That's just like, if my bank account and a suspicious or fraud anything, they're going to investigate, they're going to dispute, and I'm going to get my money back soon. So, what's the difference with these SNAP benefits?" Collins said.
CBS 6 spent months investigating rampant SNAP benefit theft dating back to 2024, sharing the voices of many impacted families in Central Virginia and pressing the state on what it's doing to stop it.
Between July 2023 and April 2025, state data showed more than 20,000 recipients across the commonwealth reported a total of $10 million in stolen food benefits.
The federal Government Accountability Office reported in 2025 that "EBT cards are a target for theft because most cards do not have certain theft prevention features, such as embedded microchips (chips), that are standard in the commercial debit and credit card industry and help to prevent card skimming."
The office further found that the USDA had not comprehensively assessed which prevention steps states were taking, nor evaluated their effectiveness or potential barriers. CBS 6 asked the USDA whether it has since done such an assessment. A spokesperson did not directly answer the question but said the USDA is taking several actions to strengthen prevention efforts to combat SNAP fraud.
Now, VDSS said the issue is on the rise again.
There were 3,100 reports of benefit theft in May 2026 and 4,400 reports in June 2026, as VDSS said more skimming devices are being discovered across the state and nation.
"So y'all are aware, but is there anything that can be done about this?" Collins said.
In an effort to prevent theft, VDSS said it is rolling out chip EBT cards in September, and all users can expect one by the end of the year.
Virginia will be the eighth state in the country to make this transition and the fifth to implement dual technology that allows people to insert the chip or tap to pay, according to VDSS.
The transition comes more than a year after the department told CBS 6 it would roll out chip cards beginning 2026.
"Chip cards align Virginia’s EBT system with the same technology used by banks and major retailers, generating a unique, encrypted code for every transaction that is far harder to skim or clone. Adopting it now reflects the agency’s commitment to protecting the benefits families rely on and pursuing better ways to serve customers across the Commonwealth," VDSS spokesperson Michael Pulley said in a statement Wednesday.
Until then, Pulley said the number one thing families can do to reduce the risk of theft is to lock their EBT cards when not in use.
Collins said her concern is how she will get through in the meantime.
"What about right now? We've been impacted right now because I've been having to choose to pay a bill or feed my kids," Collins said.
VDSS says: Anyone experiencing food insecurity can contact their local department of social services, call 211, or visit the Federation of Virginia Food Banks [vafoodbanks.org] to find food resources in their community.
At the federal level, the USDA said it is enhancing program integrity through "the implementation of SNAP EBT chip cards, mobile payment pilots, grants for state agencies that support fraud detection and prevention, updated regulatory standards, EBT card locking, encouraging states to block out-of-state and online SNAP transactions by default, blocking (disabling) illegal retail point-of-sale devices, and replacing retailer authorization numbers that were identified as compromised."
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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