During a three-day crackdown on electronic food stamp fraud in the Greater Boston area, investigators confiscated 17 illegal card skimming devices from businesses this week, the U.S. Secret Service said Friday.

The seizure of the devices prevented an estimated fraud loss of $16.7 million to the government, and an overall loss to businesses and operations of more than $334 million, the Secret Service said in a statement .

The three day sweep, conducted Tuesday through Thursday, at 700 businesses, specifically was aimed at combatting illegal payment card skimming and Electronic Benefit Transfer fraud, the statement said.

Investigators have noted a nationwide uptick in skimming targeted at EBT cards , the Secret Service said.

“EBT fraud targets the nation’s most vulnerable communities

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