Richland County—Richland County Job and Family Services received a report someone is presenting herself as an employee of the agency and asking individuals for the names, the birthdates and Social Security numbers of the members of the household. The individual asked for SNAP EBT card information as well.
Representatives of Richland County Job and Family Services want the community to know this is not the way business is conducted by the agency. “Be assured, our employees will not come to your home to tell you your benefits are going to end and the only way you’re going to stop it from happening is to provide them with your personal information”, stated Director Lori Bedson. “As an agency, we are very concerned about this and want to make sure individuals are not tricked into giving someone information that can be used to steal their benefits,” she added.
Richland County Job and Family Services will only have contact with an individual if the individual has requested services by submitting an application or has contacted the agency to report changes to an existing case. If an individual needs to be scheduled for an appointment or the individual’s benefits will change, the individual will receive a notice in the mail.
Bedson has this advice for the community, “If you have been approached by someone representing our agency who is asking you to share your personal information, please do not provide it. Contact your local police department or the Richland County Sheriff’s Office to file a report, immediately. Then contact our Fraud Coordinator at 419-774-5343 to report the incident to our agency.”