ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Hackers targeted Georgia’s privately contracted SNAP benefits call center in a cyberattack earlier this week, according to the Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS).

The attempt to access electronic benefit transfer (EBT) account information comes as hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars continue to disappear from accounts across the country.

Georgia’s DHS, who oversees the Supplemental Food and Nutrition Program (SNAP) funding in the state, said the cyber attack happened Monday, targeting their third-party contracter Conduent.

DHS said “bots” attacked Conduent’s interactive voice response (IVR) system, which allows people to call in and access acount details such as their benefit balance.

The attack “forced a disruption in service and attempted to improperly access accounts,” according to a DHS spokesperson. They did not confirm if the hackers successfully obtained account information.

“At our request, Conduent deployed interim security measures,” the DHS said.

Conduent did not confirm an official cyber attack to Atlanta News First Investigates, but stated the system “detected an unusual spike in inbound calls.”

“Such attempts are often experienced in a call center environment and Conduent, at the state of Georgia’s request, took steps to block suspicious activity,” the company said. “We will continue to monitor the situation closely.”

The company also runs the ConnectEBT app, a security feature launched last year that allows cardholders to lock and unlock their EBT cards between purchases.

Atlanta News First Investigates also found a Conduent press release from July 22, where the company said they were‘enhancing their EBT fraud prevention efforts—including “intelligent voice systems that detect suspicious calls.”

Conduent did not answer any further questions about this or their security measures.

The call center will be down over the weekend as the investigation into the cyberattack continues, according to DHS.

“For security reasons, we are imploring Georgians to immediately change their PINs and lock them when not in use. Since Conduent’s call center will be down, cardholders can instead use the ConnectEBT website or app to monitor their balance, deposits, transaction activity, and select or change a PIN. ConnectEBT also allows customers to choose where their cards are locked – everywhere, including Georgia, or only outside the State of Georgia. We strongly encourage cardholders to take advantage of this feature. Additionally, the app offers an automatic lock feature after a specified amount of time determined by the customer," DHS said in a statement.

Atlanta News First Investigates has reported on ongoing EBT scams and frauds, finding in a recent investigation that scammers are hacking store sale systems across the country to take benefits directly out of Supplemental Food Assistance Program (SNAP) accounts.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Secret Service have linked some of these frauds to international crime rings.

In the last six months, Atlanta News First Investigates has talked with dozens of people in Georgia and several other states who said their families’ food money for the month disappeared within minutes of being deposited onto their cards. Oftentimes, the transactions take place in several states in less than two minutes.

Many of the stores where these fraudulent transactions are supposedly taking place are not in the USDA’s approved retailer database, but the transactions are still going through.

While the USDA has not responded to requests for comment, it issued a release regarding the sting operation in May, confirming criminals are “cloning point of sale terminals.”

“Recent investigations show that international criminal organizations are heavily involved and benefiting from SNAP fraud,” the department said.

Criminals stole about $350 million of taxpayer dollars last year alone. Data provided by the USDA shows a drastic increase in recent EBT fraud across the country in 2024’s final quarter, with a 350% increase from the first quarter.

What you can do

If you see or hear about fraud, you can anonymously report it in several ways:

1. Contact your state.
2. Call: (800) 424-9121; (202) 690-1202 (TDD)
3. Write: USDA Office of Inspector General, PO Box 23399, Washington, DC 20026-3399
4. Submit a report to the USDA OIG online.

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