Hello. My name is Kajal Chattopadhyay, Chief of Staff at the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance DTA.
I’m here to tell you about scams and how to protect your DTA benefits from theft. DTA serves residents of the Commonwealth with TAFDC and EAEDC cash benefits and SNAP food assistance. DTA also provides workforce training opportunities.
Your DTA benefits can be stolen through scams like skimming and phishing. Skimming is a type of theft where thieves put a device on a store’s card-swiping machine to copy card information. Phishing is where thieves use texts or phone calls to get you to share confidential information about your identity or card information. The information is then used to make fake EBT cards. These are then used to steal money or SNAP from real accounts. Skimming can happen anywhere you swipe your EBT card.
To protect your benefits, change your EBT card PIN before each time you get your DTA benefits. If you get TAFDC or EAEDC, you can call your case manager to ask about having your benefits deposited to your bank account.
If you believe you may have fallen victim to a scam, report it to DTA’s fraud hotline at 1-800-372-8399. For more information, including steps on how to change your PIN, visit Mass.gov/ProtectYourEBT.