EXCLUSIVE — Americans are now acutely aware that welfare fraud is rampant in Minnesota. But the blatant theft from taxpayers is so widespread that there’s an entire category of fraud yet to be uncovered. It’s all but certain that local retailers are trafficking in food stamps, too. But this isn’t just a Minnesota scandal.
In a new report, we estimate that thieves are stealing at least $2 billion per year nationwide. Thankfully, the Trump administration is starting to crack down with a new investigation.
To date, billions of dollars in fraud have been uncovered in Minnesota — across Medicaid, child nutrition, housing, and child care. But from the moment that scandal broke, we started looking into a different kind of theft: “food stamp retailer fraud.” Under this scheme, retailers accept food stamps for products that aren’t eligible for the program, including liquor or cigarettes. But…
Identity theft is the “foundational” fraud upon which many other crimes are built. It involves the unauthorized acquisition and use of a person’s personal identifying information (PII), such as an ID number, Social Security number, or passport details.
- How it works: Fraudsters obtain PII through data breaches, mail theft, or “social engineering” (tricking people into revealing details). Once they have this data, they can open new bank accounts, apply for credit cards or loans, and even receive medical treatment under your name.
- Synthetic Identity Fraud: A sophisticated variation where criminals combine real and fabricated information to create a completely new, “synthetic” person. This is particularly difficult to detect because there is no single victim to report the suspicious activity initially.