Cops Cracking Down on People Trading EBT (Welfare) Cards for Pot

Officials with the Department of Social and Health Services announced Tuesday due to successful efforts to crack down on people selling their EBT cards for pot, new resources will make it even harder to do so.

DSHS officials say new surveillance and monitoring programs have led to numerous arrests, including a Tacoma man busted last month in Puyallup. He had posted on social media he would trade pot for EBT cards. These are the debit-like cards used by people for food and even cash instead of the old coupons.

Authorities say the problem of people selling or trading EBT cards for pot has grown significantly, hence the reason for the crackdown.

Officials are not only closely monitoring social media, Craigslist, but also in some cities performing random spot checks at grocery stores tracking card use.

Sometimes is a card suddenly starts getting used at locations that are noticeably different than in the past, it's a sign the EBT card has changed hands.

Sting operations are also being set up online to catch would-be sellers and EBT card seekers. The Tacoma man, 28-year-old Martin Allen Door, is facing multiple felony charges. DSHS says EBT fraud costs Washington taxpayers about $11 million dollars a year.

DSHS issued the following message to would-be EBT fraud suspects: "you are being watched,"  and in most cases, don't even know it.