(NEXSTAR) – The fast-approaching SNAP benefit freeze could leave millions of Americans vulnerable to scammers, officials and experts are warning.

More than 40 million people, many of them children, are preparing for food assistance to dry up on Nov. 1. The federal government says it will not be reloading Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in November as long as the government shutdown continues.

That leaves an opening for scammers to take advantage of people who are more desperate than usual to unlock or reload their benefits, explains Clayton LiaBraaten, senior adviser with scam protection app TrueCaller.

"Right now, during the government shutdown, they’re preying on people’s fear of losing their benefits to gain access to this information," LiaBraaten says.

The scamme

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