INDIANAPOLIS Indiana Family and Social Services Administration will no longer refund Hoosiers who have money stolen from their food benefit cards.Skimming and cloning those cards, known as EBT, has been an issue in Central Indiana.WRTV's Rachael Wilkerson spoke to a resident directly impacted. While shopping for groceries for her family, the northwest side resident, says her food benefits card was declined."We were in the process of checking out. We had already went through the entire cart of groceries, and that's how I found out they were gone. The very day that the benefits were placed on the card, they were gone," she said. More than $600 was stolen from her card. FSSA told WRTV it replaced $3.5 million worth of stolen benefits from October 2023 through September 2024.FSSA said moving forward, it will only replace snap benefits stolen on or before December 20, 2024.Officials say that's because of a new law passed by Congress and signed by the president.The local said she wasn't aware of the changes."That's the main reason I'm doing this is just because I don't want this to happen to anyone else," she said. She reached out to food pantries for help."We are seeing a huge increase," said Phyllis McNamara. McNamara volunteers at Boulevard Place Food Pantry. She said they've been helping more Hoosiers."People's food stamps are decreasing. The money on their cards is decreasing because there are so many people to be fed now, and so some of them are getting half of what they got before. I just make sure I take care of them," said McNamara. "There is a new poor, the middle class. A lot of the middle class are now poor." She said often people feel embarrassed to visit a pantry something she does not want you to feel."We do everything we can and these people are our guests. These are not just our clients. After all these years, we're part of their families. They're part of ours," she said. FSSA encourages anyone with a food benefits card to lock it until they use it and change their PIN after every use. FSSA issued the following statement: <i>FSSA has devoted resources to making Hoosiers aware of SNAP benefit fraud and steps they can take to protect themselves. Resources available </i><a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.in.gov/fssa/dfr/snap-benefit-fraud-by-card-skimming/__;!!FJkDyvWmnr4!Y_vi-_4fKmBHvmEp83VPG_ABh9i3oQVog49o1zKP2y1Oj9ZH_hVCwWNzSGmwhywqjT4u9pjf6Ut_oQQdW3rFw79DHZyFKSQb0sWB$"><i>at this link.</i></a><i> include an educational video, steps to take to protect your card, how to report stolen benefits, FAQs, and outreach materials that can be shared to help make Hoosiers aware. The division is working closely with </i><a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/stolen-benefits__;!!FJkDyvWmnr4!Y_vi-_4fKmBHvmEp83VPG_ABh9i3oQVog49o1zKP2y1Oj9ZH_hVCwWNzSGmwhywqjT4u9pjf6Ut_oQQdW3rFw79DHZyFKTp0EBhS$"><i>federal partners</i></a><i>, SNAP retailers, EBT processors and other industry experts to protect SNAP benefits and combat SNAP fraud.</i> <i>DFR is also communicating with those who have reported stolen benefits and will replace them if they are verified as stolen between Oct. 1, 2022, and Dec. 20, 2024.</i>