EBT Theft: Cash Aid stolen electronically, replacement taking forever, now can't access BenefitsCal account

Unfortunately this is happening a lot lately. The county has 10 business days to either deny your claim or issue replacement benefits after you submit the EBT-2259 form. Since you already got a new card, they should be processing your claim. But I've seen delays up to 45 days for some people despite the rules. The BenefitsCal account issue might be related to your benefit theft claim - sometimes they put security holds on accounts while investigating. Did you try calling the EBT customer service line (not the county) to specifically ask about the account issue?

the same EXACT thing happened to me in november!! all my cash got stolen while i was sleeping (skimmer prob) and it took them 32 days to give me my money back. keep calling every single day thats what i did. the online account thing is weird tho mine still worked. maybe try making a new email address and try again?? the whole system is broken af

You need to specifically ask for a supervisor at your county office. The frontline workers often don't have the authority to expedite benefit theft claims. Here's exactly what to do: 1. Call your county office and say "I need to speak with a supervisor about my benefit theft claim that exceeds the 10-day processing requirement" 2. If they refuse, say you're requesting a "state hearing" due to the county's failure to process your claim within required timeframes 3. Document everything - who you talked to, date, time, what they said 4. The BenefitsCal login issue is likely a security flag on your account due to the theft - this is actually standard procedure Don't give up - they are required by state regulations to process theft claims, but counties are overwhelmed with the increase in electronic theft cases.

I used Claimyr to get through to my county worker when my benefits were stolen last month. I was getting disconnected too after waiting forever. You just go to claimyr.com and they call the county for you and call you back when they reach a person. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE It saved me from having to keep calling all day. The worker told me benefit theft claims are taking longer because they've had so many cases since they started allowing Cash Aid on EBT cards for online purchases.

did you check if tha money was already replaced but you just cant see it? sometimes when they issue a new card the old balance dont show up rite away. my cousin had this happen and she thought her money wasnt replaced but when she checked at the atm it was there but not showing online

Unfortunately, the county offices are COMPLETELY OVERWHELMED with EBT theft cases right now. I've heard from reliable sources they're getting hundreds of new cases weekly. The 10-day processing requirement mentioned above is technically correct, but they're falling behind due to staffing issues. This is important: if you're facing eviction due to this delay, tell your worker you need an "immediate need" payment. They can sometimes issue emergency funds while your theft claim is being processed. Also, your BenefitsCal account is definitely locked as a security measure after reporting theft. Keep calling every day, document everything, and specifically mention that you're facing eviction if you don't get the funds replaced. That should trigger emergency procedures.

OMG I thought I was the only one! My entire January cash aid disappeared on the 6th! I filed all the paperwork but no replacement yet. This is so stressful. The rent is due and my worker keeps saying "it's being processed" whatever that means. The system is totally broken right now.

UPDATE: I finally got through to someone at the county! Used that Claimyr service and it actually worked. The worker said my claim was approved 5 days ago but there was a system error preventing it from being loaded onto my card. They're manually processing it now and I should have the funds within 48 hours. She also fixed my BenefitsCal account - apparently it was blocked for security reasons after the theft, exactly like some of you said. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions!

This is such a relief to read your update! I've been following your situation and was really worried about your rent deadline. It's incredible that the county had already approved your claim 5 days ago but didn't tell you - that's exactly the kind of communication breakdown that makes this process so much harder than it needs to be. For anyone else dealing with similar issues, this really shows how important it is to keep pushing and trying different approaches. The Claimyr service seems to be a game-changer for actually getting through to someone who can help. I'm definitely bookmarking that for future reference. Hope you get your funds loaded soon and can finally get some peace of mind! Thanks for updating us - it gives hope to others going through the same nightmare.