CalWORKs EBT card theft - $500 stolen AGAIN! Can I get emergency replacement?

omg this happened to me too!!! they stole ALL my money right after deposit day. County made me wait like 3 weeks to get it back and we almost got evicted. Make sure u report it to the EBT customer service number RIGHT AWAY 877-328-9677 before u do anything else.

You need to file a Form EBT 2259 for electronic benefit theft. Replacement is NOT automatic especially for a second incident. You'll also need to file a police report and bring that with you to your county office. Do this IMMEDIATELY. I work with benefit theft cases and here's what helps: 1. Get bank statements showing exactly when and where the money was taken 2. Bring any receipts that show where YOU were at that time (proving you couldn't have made those transactions) 3. If the transactions were made in another city/state, that helps your case 4. File police report TODAY - don't wait 5. Be prepared to explain what you did differently after the first theft Second thefts are harder to get replaced but not impossible. Good luck!

thers this new thing called "skimming" where they put fake card readers on atms to steal ur info. could be whats happening. happened to my cousin 3 times last year and EBT finally believd her the 3rd time. make sure u only use ATMs INSIDE actual banks now, not gas stations or whatever

I've been through this exact situation and it's SO frustrating. When you go to the county office, they're probably going to make you wait forever or tell you to come back another day. I spent 4 days trying to reach someone before finally getting help. I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to a real person at my county office instead of waiting. Saved me hours of frustration - you can check it out at claimyr.com. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE When you do get through, specifically ask for the EBT 2259 form AND request to speak with a supervisor who handles benefit theft cases. Regular workers sometimes don't know the proper procedures for second thefts. Make it clear you were a victim of skimming (sounds like you were) and that you took all reasonable precautions after the first incident.

Honestly second time theft is a RED FLAG to them and they probly think ur selling ur benefits or giving someone ur pin. Sorry but thats how the system works - they assume WE did something wrong. When my benefits got stolen they made me take a class about EBT card safety before they would even look at my form. SO DEMEANING!!!! Like I'm not smart enough to protect my own money?? The whole CalWORKs system is designed to make us feel like we're criminals for needing help. And then when ACTUAL criminals steal from us, suddenly we're supposed to become detectives and PROVE our innocence.

When this happened to me in January, I got emergency replacement in 3 days by doing these exact steps: 1. Filed EBT 2259 form in person at county office 2. Brought police report 3. Printed my bank statements showing the transactions 4. Got a note from my employer proving I was at work when the withdrawals happened 5. Showed them the text alerts I got from my EBT account when the money was taken Make sure you sign up for EBT text alerts if you haven't already! They send a message every time there's a transaction on your card. It's too late for this theft but will help if it happens again. Also, consider changing where your benefits get deposited. You can have CalWORKs direct deposited to a regular bank account now instead of the EBT card. It's much safer.

just wanna say im sorry this happened to u. when my benefits got stolen last yr i had to feed my kids ramen for a week before they replaced the money. the system totally sucks and they treat us like were liars. hope u get ur money back quick

ALSO make sure your mailing address is up to date with the county!! A lot of benefit theft happens because people are stealing cards right out of mailboxes when they get sent out. If you've moved or aren't getting mail reliably, you can have your EBT card held at the county office for pickup instead of mailed.