The I-Team has been reporting on criminals trying to get information connected to personal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP accounts.
Security experts say that scammers are texting people, telling them that their food benefits are at risk, and information needs to be "verified."
But, if you fall for the SNAP phishing scam, your food card could be wiped clean.
The threatening texts say food cards are "currently locked" or that "your benefits are suspended."
The scam texts ask SNAP users to call a number to restore service, but you aren't calling the federal government. Instead, you're calling scammers, who will steal the funds. Security experts say they're seeing an increase in SNAP scams because of uncertainty around federal programs under President Donald Trump's administration.
"There's a lot in the news right now on potential cuts to programs, and people are scared that they're potentially going to be impacted by the news of the day. Scammers are taking advantage of this," said Steve Grobman, with McAfee.
Experts say, like any scam, you are unlikely to get reimbursed, if you give up your own account information. This scam tricks you into doing just that.
"And they're really tricking people into either calling a phone number or accessing a website where they then disclose critical information, sometimes including the actual credit card or debit card number, along with their PIN. So, people need to be very hyper-aware that if they get one of these messages that talks about a government program that's potentially being impacted, they need to really take a pause," Grobman said.
After you take a pause, reach out to the agency or business independently. Go to the SNAP website or any other government website on your own, usually ending in .gov. Then, get the phone number from that website or your SNAP card.
Security experts at McAfee and others say they can monitor these types of scams by posing as victims and using what they call "honeypot accounts."
They also use sophisticated technology to monitor trends.