SALT LAKE CITY — Jerome Perez is experiencing a bit of déjà vu.
“We were struggling with being homeless for a long time. Actually, we were dealing with it for about five years, and we’ve been off the streets for about four years now,” said Perez. “Now we’re starting to get panicky, like, 'Oh, are we going to be back in the same situation?'”
Why the panic?
The money that would help him pay for housing: gone.
Perez had been working up until recently, but current issues with his heart and back have left him temporarily unable to work. His wife Anita is also disabled.
The couple began receiving financial assistance a few months ago in addition to the SNAP benefits they use to feed their two children. Those benefits are placed on the same card.
A surprise awaited him when he attempted to pay this month’s rent with his EBT card in tow.
“I just went to the 7-Eleven and tried to withdraw the funds for the rent because we had texted the landlord to come get it,” said Perez. “When I went there, it had insufficient funds. I said, ‘Oh, no way, the money is on there, $770, I just checked last night.' He said, ‘I’m telling you, it says insufficient funds.’ I did some of my own due diligence and tried to track down where the transaction was done and I pulled up an ATM location in San Jose. It’s like a little shopping mall.”
Left high and dry and with only $18 left on the card, Perez reached out to several organizations to find help.
Fortunately, the family of four received assistance from a nonprofit for this month’s rent, but the situation still left them scratching their heads.
Perez says his card was locked to protect his benefits from fraudulent activity.
“They just admitted to us that yes, the financials can be taken off of the card even if the card is locked,” he said. “It kind of makes you feel frustrated.”
“What sometimes happens is if the card is locked and you also receive financial cash benefits, then only your SNAP benefits are secure,” said Becky Wickstrom with Workforce Services.
Wickstrom said that while 85,000 people across Utah utilize SNAP, 3,000 of them also receive additional benefits, much like Perez.
Workforce Services created the locking system as a security mechanism, but again, it only protects the SNAP benefits.
FOX 13 News asked if there had been discussion of a remedy to this problem. They said they continue to work with their federal partners and their card vendor to find a solution.
“We called eligibility. They told us the same thing: Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do,” said Perez. “This is an ongoing situation since last year, and because of that, we just don’t have the funds to keep reimbursing everyone because it’s becoming so overwhelming.”
“That’s true,” said Wickstrom. "During the pandemic, there was some federal funding available for the reimbursement of stolen funds, and that funding is no longer available. It is a federal benefit, so unfortunately, at this time, we can’t reimburse stolen benefits.”
FOX 13 has reported on Utahns having this very issue before, once in August last year and again in January.
We asked Wickstrom what answer she has for people experiencing fraud despite these safeguards in place.
“I know that this is devastating if this happens to you, if your account is drained and it’s not your fault. This is happening on a big scale... these scams are becoming more sophisticated, more advanced, and that’s why we’re trying to do things now to increase security," she said.
Perez wants that security to be even more secure, for his family and for everyone trying to make ends meet.
“It’s kind of like playing Russian roulette with your family,” Perez said. “They should be hunted down, whoever this criminal organization is, and brought to justice. It’s taking advantage of the weakest of the weak in our society and in our communities.”
Workforce Services said the best defense mechanism is still to lock your card and frequently change your PIN.
They say the card lock is a stop-gap solution, something they could implement immediately instead of waiting for additional protections to come down the line.