SALT LAKE CITY — On Monday, FOX 13 News viewers reached out with concerns after their EBT cards had been compromised, and those benefit recipients learned that they won't be receiving funds until next month.
"You can't go get eggs or bread or a can of tuna, you can't get a can of soup, you can't get anything," said Barton Gonzales, a food stamp recipient.
The Utah Department of Workforce Services told FOX 13 that there is no data breach or hack.
"There has been an increase nationally with some issues with compromised cards, but there is not a data hack," said DWS deputy director Kevin Burt.
Gonzales, from South Salt Lake, has been using food stamps for years.
"On Sunday morning when I get [food stamps], on the 5th, there was a zero balance. I was devastated; I couldn't go to the store," said Gonzales.
After contacting Workforce Services, Gonzales learned he wasn't the only one dealing with this issue.
"The woman on the chat is the one that told me, 'Your pin has been hacked, you're not the only one, it's happened to thousands of people across the country since Christmas,'" said Gonzales.
Jennifer Snyder from North Salt Lake explained that she isn't able to use her benefits this month.
"There was seven transactions between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey," said Snyder.
Gonzales noticed similar locations for his compromised card.
"And it was used twice in two different states in Pennsylvania and in New Jersey," said Gonzales.
Snyder said she knew she'd been scammed when she tried to use her EBT card at a gas station.
"I went to 7-Eleven to buy my son a drink. And as soon as I swiped my card, it said 'denied' and 'insufficient funds,'" said Snyder.
She said it's sad that scammers are targeting people experiencing food insecurity.
"It's me, my husband and my son, right? It's making me feel really sad, worn down, depressed, and it's not right," said Snyder.
Burt encouraged SNAP recipients to change their pins often.
"Individual cards that contain their benefit have been compromised, and some individuals unfortunately have lost their benefit," he said.
Burt explained why people are not being repaid this month.
"Federally, they introduced some funds to be able to replace benefits that were lost due to individually compromised cards. However, that funding has since expired and so anyone that has lost their benefits due to these types of scams will not be able to receive a replacement of benefits," said Burt.
Gonzales hopes for stronger security in the future, but in the meantime, encourages others to monitor their accounts closely.
"Check your accounts regularly and I highly recommend you change your password," said Gonzales.
