| The EBT issuance system is designed to
provide participants timely delivery of benefits. It is also designed
to decrease fraudulent activity in the Food Stamp and Temporary Assistance
Programs. In order to accomplish this goal, the EBT system has security
procedures in place to help prevent fraudulent activity.
It has come to our attention that, in an
effort to assist participants, some staff are taking action that does not
support established security procedures. Effective immediately,
staff must NOT take the following actions:
DO NOT:
-
give out the participant's card number (PAN)
to anyone, including the participant,
-
ask stores to complete manual entry transactions
when the participant has the card number and does not have the EBT card,
-
call the Deluxe Help Desk to activate a card
for a participant, or
-
call the Deluxe Help Desk to request a new
PIN for a participant.
The potential risk for losing benefits is
greatly increased when any of the above actions occur. These actions
violate security procedures and, if a participant loses benefits, staff
will be required to explain any action taken. If the participant
is having difficulty receiving the EBT card/PIN, activating the card, or
with similar problems, use the following procedures.
NON-RECEIPT OF CARD
If a participant does not receive an EBT
card and the address is correct, staff:
-
must discuss sending the new card to the county
office address, and
-
must not give out a card number to the participant
or ask a store to accept a hand written card number.
Activating a card that is in the mail increases
the possibility that benefits can be stolen from the EBT account.
Use the following procedure to issue a new card to the county office address:
-
Cancel the card in the Administrative Terminal
(MOP) using A6,
-
Verify the county office code in MOP is correct,
and
-
Use code "C" in the action field of
EBTU, change the mailing indicator to "O", and put a "Y"
in the reissue card field.
If the above procedure is used and the participant
does not receive the card, follow proper supervisory channels to contact
the Food Stamp or Temporary Assistance Program and Policy Unit in Central
Office.
ASSISTANCE WITH CARD ACTIVATION/PIN
REQUEST
Staff may assist participants in contacting
the Deluxe Help Desk by dialing the number with the participant on the
line. However, staff must not activate the card for the participant
or request a new PIN. Deluxe Help Desk staff are instructed to speak
with only the participant or the authorized representative. These
procedures are to ensure the correct person is activating the card or conducting
other EBT business over the phone.
If benefits are lost and a DFS staff member
violated security procedures to activate a card or request a PIN, that
staff member will be held accountable for explaining how the benefits were
lost.
Use the following procedures to assist
participants who are unable to activate a card and/or request a PIN.
-
Ask the participant if s/he knows someone
who can act as an authorized representative for food stamps. Immediately
enter that person's information into EBTU. This action updates the
MOP system so a card is issued to the food stamp authorized representative.
OR
-
Ask the participant to stay on the line while
staff dials the Deluxe Help Desk number (1-800-997-7777). When the
participant is asked to enter information, county staff must hang up.
OR
-
Tell the participant to contact the Food Stamp
Hotline at 1-800-392-1261. The individual answering this number can
assist the participant in contacting the Deluxe Help Desk.
If the participant continues not to be able
to resolve a problem through the Deluxe Help Desk, follow proper supervisory
channels to contact the Food Stamp or Temporary Assistance Program and
Policy Unit for further assistance. |