TALLAHASSEE (AP) — State welfare officials are trying to curb fraud and waste in the food stamp program, announcing they will no longer pay food stamp benefits to residents if their mail is returned as undeliverable.

The Department of Children and Families pays food allowances through electronic debit cards. More than 90 percent of food stamp recipients sign up for those services online.

But for the residents who still use postal mail, the department says it will no longer add money to their debit card if returned mail reveals they aren’t living at that address.

A spokesman said in the past, the agency paid the accounts for three or four months, sometimes paying residents who moved out of state. Now “undeliverable mail” accounts will be cut off until the next renewal cycle.