The Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (ODJFS) is urging SNAP recipients to protect their benefits in wake of fraud schemes such as skimming.

Skimming is a scheme in which scammers place a fraudulent device over a card reader in order to steal that card's information and give criminals access to their EBT card numbers.

These devices often look nearly identical to a regular card reader.

ODJFS Director Matt Damschroder says the department has tools such as the "Lock Everywhere" feature on the ConnectEBT app to help recipients avoid becoming victim to one of these scams.

The app's lock feature allows SNAP recipients to block in-person transactions at out-of-state retail locations. It also requires users to unlock their EBT prior to making any purchases including in-state.

Additionally, the feature allows recipients to create a unique PIN for their card. This PIN should be changed monthly before each scheduled deposit. Recipients are reminded to never share their PINs and that ODJFS will never ask for these numbers.

When entering your pin, consumers are recommended to cover the keypad with their bodies in order to prevent others from seeing them type it in.

SNAP recipients are reminded to always check for skimmers or anything else suspicious before they use their cards. You can do this by pulling at the edges of the keypad to make sure there is nothing over the reader.

If you do see something suspicious, you're asked to not swipe your card and instead notify a store employee of anything suspicious.