Conduent Implements Technologies to Help South Carolina EBT Cardholders Protect SNAP and Other Benefits from Fraud

Conduent Incorporated (Nasdaq: CNDT), a global technology-led business solutions and services company, has implemented technologies for the South Carolina Department of Social Services (SCDSS) to help combat fraud and further enhance the security of the state’s Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program. In South Carolina and other states, EBT fraud targeting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other cash benefits adds costs to government agencies and causes challenges for the recipients who depend on these benefits.

The fraud-reducing technologies are part of a suite of tools Conduent offers that can assist agencies and beneficiaries nationwide in protecting government aid for nutrition assistance, unemployment insurance and other cash-aid programs.

“SNAP beneficiaries rely on benefits to help supplement their monthly food budget to feed their families. When these benefits are stolen from them through fraud, that can result in less food on a family’s dinner table and hungry homes,” said Michael Leach, SCDSS State Director. “Our agency is continually working with Conduent to deploy new strategies and safeguards to prevent our clients from becoming fraud victims.”

Last year, Conduent implemented an advanced interactive voice response (IVR) system technology for South Carolina’s EBT customer service center that automatically identifies suspicious phone call patterns, such as an unusually high number of calls from a single phone number. When threats are identified, the technology can prevent access to EBT account information in real time.

South Carolina has also made an account protection feature available to beneficiaries, allowing them to easily and quickly lock and unlock their benefits card using Conduent’s ConnectEBT mobile app and cardholder portal. This feature, which applies to both in-state and out-of-state purchases, provides cardholders more control and security in managing their accounts and helps prevent perpetrators from gaining access to their benefits. Other states including Iowa, Maryland, New York and Ohio have also implemented this ConnectEBT feature.

In addition, for South Carolina, Conduent implemented the ability for cardholders to receive and manage usage alerts for identifying suspicious transaction activity on their EBT accounts. This feature can help beneficiaries monitor, spot and report the suspicious activity in real-time.

SCDSS says it will never send clients a text message about locking a card and requiring a SNAP recipient to contact a 1-888 number and provide the client’s EBT card number to unlock the benefits. To report suspicious activity or SNAP fraud, the public is encouraged to make a report to the USDA Office of the Inspector General at 1-800-424-9121 or online here.