SACRAMENTO, California. – Beneficiaries of an EBT card in California have a new application that can prevent theft of CalFresh and CalWORKS money, through the ebtEDGE app.
California has announced that the new ebtEDGE app will be available to CalFresh and CalWORKS beneficiaries later this year.
The advantage of this new app is that it prevents the theft of the money that families receive each month on their EBT cards, usually through electronic scams and card cloning.
What is the new ebtEDGE application
The ebtEDGE application is an app that is downloaded to smartphones and that allows you to manage and protect the use of an EBT card.
The ebtEDGE app offers EBT card users more control over the security of the money they receive each month to buy food.
Its main goal is to prevent money from CalFresh or CalWORKS EBT cards from being stolen electronically using devices called skimmers.
A skimmer is a device that steals EBT card information when you make a payment at an ATM. This type of fraud technology also steals information from ATMs.
What the ebtEDGE app can do to protect the EBT card
According to what is now known about the arrival in California of the ebtEDGE application, users will be able to:
- Block the EBT card from being used for purchases outside of California
- Block online purchases with an EBT card
- Freeze EBT account in case of information theft or fraud alert
- Unfreeze EBT account after a theft or cloning alert
- Reset the EBT Card PIN
- Request a new EBT card if it is stolen, lost or damaged
All EBT card lock options are temporary and can be changed from the ebtEDGE app.
When will the ebtEDGE app work in California
According to a statement released by Butte County, in Northern California, the ebtEDGE application will be available by the end of the year throughout the state.
The ebtEDGE app can be downloaded for Android and iPhone users.
In addition, it has security elements such as face recognition and touch ID.
