EBT card drained to 1¢ overnight - when will CalFresh refund stolen benefits?

omg this happened to me last year!! took them 3 weeks to give me my money back 😡 such bs

I'm sorry you're going through this. EBT theft has unfortunately become more common. The form you filled out is probably the EBT-2259 benefit theft claim. By law, they have 10 business days to investigate and restore benefits after you submit a claim, but it often takes the full 10 days. Make sure you get a copy of your claim with a date stamp on it. In the meantime, you should immediately contact local food banks for emergency assistance. Many counties also have emergency food vouchers available while theft claims are being processed. Ask your county worker specifically about 'expedited emergency food assistance' while your claim is pending.

check ur transactions on the EBT website... u can see exactly when and where they used it. print that out too to show the fraud ppl

This is happening way too often now with skimmers on card readers. For anyone reading this - always check the card slot before swiping your EBT card and cover the keypad when entering your PIN. As for getting your benefits back faster, try calling your county office directly. However, it's extremely difficult to get through on their phone lines. I recently discovered a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually connects you with a live CalFresh worker instead of waiting on hold for hours. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 It helped me resolve an issue when my benefits were incorrectly calculated. Might be worth trying to speed up your claim process.

this is y i always transfer my calfresh to my bank account as soon as it hits!!! u can do that now with the connectEBT app... then nobody can steal it!!!

I had $340 stolen last November, and it took exactly 10 business days to get it back. The day I reported it, I asked about emergency food assistance and was referred to a local food bank partnered with CalFresh. They were able to provide me with emergency groceries the same day. One tip: I had to be very specific about what was purchased fraudulently. Looking at your EBT transaction history online will show exactly when, where, and how much was taken. Print this out or take screenshots and bring it with you when you follow up. This speeds up the verification process considerably.

Something similar happened to me but I think it was because of a system glitch not theft? My balance showed $0.01 for like two days then suddenly all my benefits were back. Maybe check again tomorrow before panicking? The EBT system has been really glitchy lately with all their updates.

idk if anyone said this yet but you should also file a police report!! my cousin had this happen and they wouldn't refund her until she brought in a police report number

UPDATE: I called the county office using that Claimyr service someone mentioned, and actually got through to a real person! They confirmed my claim is in process and should be resolved within 10 business days. The worker also referred me to two local food banks that can help with emergency food assistance while I'm waiting. One of them has a special program for families with CalFresh theft issues. Going there tomorrow morning. Still super stressed but at least we won't go hungry while waiting for the refund. Thanks everyone for your help!