Holders of electronic benefits cards in Maine get a surprise when calling in to check their balances

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Some holders of electronic benefits transfer cards in the US state of Maine have found that dialling the phone number on the back of the cards gets them a sex line instead of their balance.

A Maine government spokesman told the Sun Journal that officials were aware that the phone number on some welfare cards was off by one digit.

Lj Langelier, of Lewiston, discovered the error when he went to check his EBT balance before going to the grocery store. What he got instead was a message welcoming him to “America’s hottest talk line”.

Langelier says he thought he’d misdialled but kept getting the same message when he called back.

The department said it planned to replace the misprinted cards and strengthen its review process to prevent future errors.

With Associated Press