Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
How does SNAP fraud compare to fraud in other federal assistance programs?
Executive summary
Available reporting shows SNAP is a very large program serving about 42 million people and that measured improper payments in SNAP have been in the single-digit-to-low-double‑digit percentage range (11.7% in FY23, 10.3% in FY24 for "improper payments") while discrete counts of alleged "fraud" incidents and stolen-benefit transactions have been reported in the hundreds of thousands and low‑hundreds of millions of dollars in recent quarters (e.g., 226,000 fraudulent claims and $102 million stolen in Q1 FY2025) [1] [2] [3]. Congressional and GAO work characterizes SNAP fraud as uncommon relative to total program size but also highlights longstanding oversight gaps and the program’s vulnerability to specific schemes like trafficking and EBT card skimming [4] [5] [6].
1. SNAP is huge — scale matters when comparing fraud totals
SNAP covers roughly 42 million Americans, so even small improper‑payment rates translate into large dollar amounts; government estimates put SNAP improper payments at about 11.7% in FY2023 (~$10.5 billion) and 10.3% in FY2024, and other reporting cites $102 million in stolen benefits in one recent quarter alongside 226,000 fraudulent claims [1] [2] [3]. This scale means headlines with raw dollar figures can appear alarming but must be read against total program outlays [1] [3].
2. Definitions matter: fraud vs. error vs. improper payments
Experts and Congressional research draw a strict line: "fraud" is intentional illegal conduct, while "errors" are unintentional mistakes; the government's improper‑payment metrics mix categories and do not always specify motive, so a snapshot percentage does not equate directly to intentional fraud [4]. GAO and CRS materials warn there is no single figure that perfectly captures all forms of SNAP fraud, and some categories (like trafficking) are always labeled fraud whereas duplicate enrollments may be errors or fraud depending on circumstances [4] [5].
3. Types of SNAP fraud and how they compare to other program schemes
SNAP fraud includes retailer trafficking, recipient application fraud, duplicate enrollments, and electronic theft (EBT card skimming/cloning). Reporting highlights recent increases in electronic theft incidents—cloning and skimming—that produced large numbers of "fraudulent transactions" that victims did not authorize [6] [3]. Other federal assistance programs (not fully detailed in current reporting) also face fraud and improper‑payment risks but the sources emphasize SNAP’s unique exposure to retail trafficking and card‑theft schemes because benefits are spent in stores via EBT [4] [6]. Available sources do not provide a systematic, side‑by‑side fraud rate comparison between SNAP and, for example, Medicaid or unemployment insurance in the same time frame (not found in current reporting).
4. Oversight, reporting gaps, and political framing
GAO and congressional analyses have made repeated recommendations to improve SNAP payment‑integrity tools and analytics, highlighting oversight gaps [5]. Meanwhile, political actors and media outlets present competing narratives: some outlets and officials emphasize large counts of "dead" or "double‑enrolled" recipients to justify program overhaul, while fact‑checkers and CRS note such claims can be misleading without context about data sources and definitions [7] [2] [8]. States and USDA have clashed over data sharing—21 states sued USDA over a data request and judges temporarily blocked penalties—illustrating how politics affects the ability to measure and address fraud [2].
5. What the numbers do — and don’t — prove about relative fraud levels
Reported spikes in stolen‑benefit reports (e.g., state reports of stolen SNAP benefits rising year‑to‑year) show certain fraud vectors are real and growing, but the Congressional Research Service and GAO caution that SNAP fraud remains a relatively small share of total program funding when properly categorized and that no single metric captures all forms of wrongdoing [9] [4] [5]. Allegations placing SNAP as uniquely corrupt or as the largest source of federal fraud are not supported by the more nuanced government and CRS characterizations in the available reporting [4] [5].
6. Takeaway for readers and policymakers
Policymakers face a tradeoff: tighten controls to reduce trafficking and electronic theft—measurable problems cited by USDA, GAO, and reporting—or avoid adding certification burdens that could cut eligible families off benefits, a concern raised by advocates and state officials [8] [10]. Independent oversight groups recommend better analytics, clearer definitions, and improved state‑federal cooperation to target intentional fraud while preserving access for vulnerable households [5] [4].
Limitations: sources supplied unevenly cover other federal programs, so a direct, apples‑to‑apples fraud comparison (SNAP vs. Medicaid, TANF, unemployment, etc.) is not available in the current reporting and therefore not asserted here (not found in current reporting).