EBT/SNAP benefits stolen in Kern County - still waiting for replacement after 3 weeks

omg yes!!!! same thing happened to my sister last month too. she lives in bakersfield and had like $700 taken. took her almost 5 weeks to get it back. kern county is THE WORST with these replacements i swear

This is unfortunately becoming more common with the EBT skimming that's happening. Make sure you've completed the EBT-2259 form (Stolen Benefits Report), not just the phone report. You should have received a confirmation number when you reported it. Also, request a supervisor specifically when you call - they can expedite replacement in hardship situations where children are involved. Kern County processes are notoriously backlogged, but there are emergency protocols.

I had my benefits stolen twice last year (not in Kern though, in Fresno). The second time I changed my PIN after every single purchase and haven't had issues since. Counties are supposed to replace stolen benefits within 10 calendar days of the claim being approved according to the CalFresh regulations I read online. The problem is they're taking forever to actually process and approve the claims.

I work with a community assistance program in Kern County, and unfortunately, we're seeing this a lot lately. There's been a huge spike in EBT theft cases here in the past 2 months. The county office is completely overwhelmed with these claims - about 3x the normal volume. One thing that might help: when you call, instead of selecting the CalFresh/SNAP option, select the "emergency benefits" option. You might get through faster. Also, many people have had success using Claimyr to get through to a live person at the county office. It's a service that basically waits on hold for you and calls you when a real person answers. Saved me hours with my own benefits issue. Their site is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8

THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS A JOKE!!! I had $675 stolen in February and I'm STILL fighting with them to get it replaced!!! THREE MONTHS LATER!!! When I finally got a worker on the phone after WEEKS of trying, they told me my claim was "under investigation" because there was "suspicious activity" - yeah NO KIDDING, someone STOLE MY BENEFITS!!! Now they're saying I might not get it back at all because they can't "verify" it was stolen. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PROVE SOMEONE HACKED MY CARD????? The whole system is designed to make us give up.

For what it's worth, I was getting nowhere with my stolen benefits claim until I contacted my county supervisor's office. Each county has elected supervisors who can sometimes intervene. I emailed my supervisor's constituent services staff explaining the situation and had my benefits replaced within 3 days after waiting for weeks. Might be worth trying in your case. For Kern County you can find your supervisor here: https://www.kerncounty.com/government/board-of-supervisors

Just went through this last month. File a police report immediately if you haven't already. Then call the county and tell them you've filed a police report. Request expedited replacement due to hardship (this is a real thing they can do). And yes call the Board of Supervisors office - worked for me! Got replacement in 4 days after doing all that.

does ne1 know if u can get emergency food stamps while waiting for stolen benefits to be returned? like can they give u emergency funds till the investigation is done??

Update: I FINALLY got through to someone today! Used the emergency benefits option like someone suggested, still waited 35 minutes but actually spoke to a person. She apologized for the delay and said there's been hundreds of theft claims this month alone. Mine was approved but stuck in the system. She manually pushed it through and said I should see the replacement benefits on my card within 24-48 hours! Will update again when/if they actually show up. Thanks for all the help everyone!