Secret Service targeted California organized crime over EBT fraud in Operation April Fools

Working with law enforcement partners, the U.S. Secret Service recently arrested 10 individuals across the state of California and charged them with crimes related to Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) fraud, as part of an action dubbed Operation April Fools.

The multi-day operation sought to crack down on efforts to install electronic devices on ATMs, gas station pumps, or merchant point-of-sale terminals and capture card information. These acts of skimming allow criminals to steal EBT card information – a trend that has, according to the Secret Service, been rising over the past 18-24 months.

Many target EBT debit cards in particular due to their lack of chip technology. Criminals then take the captured card information and encode it onto another card with a magnetic strip. Even something as simple as a hotel key would do.

“EBT fraud continues to be an issue in California and throughout the nation,” Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Peck, U.S. Secret Service Office of Investigations, said. “The U.S. Secret Service will continue to investigate and arrest those responsible for EBT fraud as we seek to disrupt their networks and protect our most vulnerable communities.”

In this case, the seven were arrested and charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California while another three were arrested and charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.