LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Hoping to combat rising levels of theft of public- assistance benefits through card-skimming, the county Board of Supervisors directed its staff Tuesday to identify funds to create a dedicated unit within the District Attorney's Office to prosecute such crimes.

The motion, which was approved unanimously, calls on the Department of Public Social Services to work with the D.A.'s Office to identify up to $750,000 in 2023-24 and nearly $1.1 million in 2024-25 to fund an Anti-Skimming Unit "to investigate and prosecute those responsible for stealing public assistance benefits via skimming and other illegal methods of electronic theft."

Supervisor Hilda Solis' motion noted that skimming thefts of benefits issued through CalWORKs, CalFresh and General Relief rose from $951,500 in 2021 to $22.5 million in 2022, with the amount already topping $39 million this year.

"The people targeted by EBT skimming are among our most vulnerable -- including people experiencing homelessness and families still recovering from the pandemic's hardships," Solis said in a statement after the vote. "They are being pushed to the edge when they check their account balance only to see that it has been wiped by individuals engaging in criminal activity. While the state of California is working diligently to upgrade EBT cards to prevent skimming, this will take time and families need relief now."