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How has SNAP fraud trended in the last decade and what reforms have been proposed?
Executive summary
SNAP-related fraud and improper payments have been reported to rise sharply in 2024–2025, with USDA’s FY2024 national payment error rate at 10.93% and several private and government-linked studies and news accounts citing big jumps in EBT theft and reported fraudulent claims (for example, 226,000 fraudulent claims and $102 million in stolen benefits in Q1 FY2025) [1] [2] [3]. Proposed reforms range from technical fixes (EBT modernization, fraud‑detection tools) to major policy changes (restructuring eligibility, new work rules, and legislation to tighten integrity), and these proposals are politically contested [4] [5] [6].
1. A spike in digital-era theft: EBT skimming and cloning
Reporting and industry studies say the shift to digital channels and persistent old card technology have enabled rapid growth in electronic theft of SNAP benefits. Private research and media outlets estimate hundreds of millions stolen in 2025 alone — Propel’s estimate of $349 million in H1 2025 and LexisNexis’ finding that fraud attack rates and costs surged as EBT schemes escalated — and federal investigators have said skimming operations are producing record losses [7] [8] [9].
2. Official error rates vs. “fraud” headlines — different measurements
Federal measurement distinguishes payment error (which includes errors, administrative mistakes, and some fraud) from intentional fraud. USDA’s FY2024 national payment error rate was 10.93%; the department and Congressional Research Service note that the official measures do not capture every kind of trafficking or electronic theft and that “SNAP fraud is rare” by some longstanding metrics even as specific forms of theft climb [1] [10]. Media reports focused on Q1 FY2025 cite 226,000 fraudulent claims and $102 million lost; those figures reflect particular categories of approved fraudulent claims and unauthorized transactions rather than the single, longstanding QC error metric [2] [3].
3. Independent industry audits report cost-per-loss rising
Private sector studies say the “true cost” of SNAP fraud has accelerated because agencies incur investigative and administrative expenses beyond the value of stolen benefits. LexisNexis’ 2025 True Cost of Fraud studies report that every $1 lost costs agencies multiple dollars in response activities and that the monthly rate of fraudulent applications and post‑issuance cases “doubled since 2024” in their survey of state and county decision‑makers [4] [8].
4. Where the problem looks worse — state-level hot spots
News outlets mapping USDA submissions highlight states with large volumes of reported thefts: for example, New York, California, and Maryland showed large numbers of theft claims in recent reporting, and some states’ reports to USDA rose dramatically between 2024 and early 2025 [11] [9]. Reporters and investigators also note inconsistencies in state reporting and questions about under‑ or over‑reporting, so patterns vary and are sensitive to local detection capacity [9].
5. Policy responses: technical modernization and reimbursements
Technical reforms being proposed or pursued include updating EBT technology, adopting contactless/mobile payment pilots, and investing in advanced fraud‑detection and identity verification tools — approaches recommended by LexisNexis and pushed by some members of Congress who want reimbursing victims restored after thefts [4] [7] [11]. The Secret Service and federal partners have been deployed to investigate skimming rings, underscoring a law‑enforcement angle to reforms [7].
6. Policy responses: sweeping eligibility and program structure reforms
Beyond technical fixes, major policy proposals aim to reshape SNAP’s rules and administration. Project 2025 and some legislative initiatives propose moving SNAP administration, tightening eligibility, and changing benefit calculations; the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and other 2025 legislative changes expand work requirements and adjust benefit formulas, which supporters frame as integrity and fiscal reforms while critics say they will cut access [5] [6] [12]. Separate bills such as the “SNAP Reform and Upward Mobility Act of 2025” propose more administrative reporting and analysis changes [13].
7. Political contest and competing priorities
There is clear disagreement about causes and appropriate remedies. USDA leadership and some Republicans emphasize rooting out fraud and reworking recertification and eligibility processes [2]. Academic reviews and hunger policy groups urge evidence‑based reforms that simplify access, update benefit calculations for local costs, and caution against broad cuts that harm countercyclical response [14] [15]. Watchdogs warn that collecting state data could be used selectively to justify rollbacks, a concern flagged by civil‑liberties organizations [16].
8. What remains unclear or unreported
Available sources do not present a single reconciled trend line combining official QC error rates, retailer trafficking estimates, and new EBT skimming figures into one long‑term decade trend; nor do they provide a universally agreed annual national dollar figure for 2015–2025 that captures all forms of fraud and theft consistently [10] [1]. Analysts therefore rely on multiple complementary metrics — official payment error rates, state reports of stolen benefits, private-sector cost studies, and law‑enforcement cases — each emphasizing different facets of the problem [1] [4] [9].
Summary judgment: reporting from 2024–2025 documents a sharp rise in electronic theft and administrative error attention, spurring a mix of technical, legal, and structural reform proposals that are politically contested and measured differently across data sources [7] [8] [5].