New Effort Launched to Prevent EBT Fraud

State officials have launched a new effort to crackdown on EBT and welfare fraud, which has been a problem in Waltham.

The Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association and Massachusetts Major City Chiefs Association have partnered with the Masssachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance and launched several initiatives to stop such fraud, according to a DTA press release. The DTA plans to conduct bi-weekly checks of ATMs and point of sale withdrawals to find purchases made at and prohibited locations. The DTA also plans to share the monitoring data with local police departments to help investigate alleged fraud.

The effort comes several months after authroties charged Hassan Mounajed, 30, of Fall River, with using the EBT system to illegally receive money from fake transactions. 

The DTA has also taken other steps to beef up fraud prevention efforts. It has started charging a $5 fee for replacement cards which has lead to a 28 percent drop in new card requests, according to the release.