New card, same nightmare: Chicago mother, daughter say fraud keeps following their money

CHICAGO - New cards. New numbers. Repeated reports to the bank.

But a Chicago mother and daughter say the same troubling problem keeps coming back: transactions they insist they did not make.

Louise Williams, 82, and her 63-year-old daughter, Brenda Williams, say they have spent years disputing transactions and replacing debit cards connected to their Bank of America accounts.

"How many cards would you say you’ve had to be re-issued?" FOX Chicago’s Tia Ewing asked Louise.

"Seven to eight cards, I am sure of that," she said. "And every time I would activate that card, someone goes in and steals out of my account."

Brenda says she has had at least six replacement cards this year alone and estimates she has gone through 15 to 20 debit cards over the years.

The question now: How can suspected fraud continue even after a card is replaced?

An 82-year-old afraid to activate her debit card

Louise still works as a home health care aide. Her paycheck and Social Security money are deposited into her Bank of America account — money she says she depends on to live.

But she says she repeatedly finds purchases she does not recognize.

"I don’t use Amazon, I don’t use Uber Eats," Louise said. "None of the stuff you get delivered. I go in the store and do whatever purchases I want to make."

FOX Chicago reviewed transactions with Louise that included Amazon, DoorDash and Uber Eats, as well as transactions appearing in places including New York and California. Louise says she did not make them.

"Amazon, DoorDash, Uber Eats. These are charges in another city," she said. "How do I do that?"

Louise says the response has become a familiar routine: report the transactions, return to the bank, close or change the account, get another card and start over.

Now, she says she is so worried about the cycle repeating that she has not activated her newest debit card.

"I haven’t activated the card because some way or another someone goes in and take my funds out," Louise said.

Same family, same bank, similar complaints

Louise is not the only member of her family reporting problems.

Brenda, also a home health care aide, says she has dealt with unauthorized transactions since 2021.

She says some disputed transactions were initially credited back to her account, only for some of those credits to later be reversed.

"They credit me then reverse it," Brenda said. "It has to be thousands of dollars."

For Brenda, that money is not disposable income.

"I am a home care aide and I have to use it to live and have a roof over my head," she said.

Brenda says she has found one way to stop the transactions she believes are connected to her cards: not having a physical debit card at all.

"When I don’t have a physical card they can’t steal, steal, steal," she said.

Why might replacing a card not stop fraud?

FOX Chicago took the Williams family's experience to Harry Maugans, founder and CEO of Privacy, a company focused on protecting consumers’ payment information.

"If you keep changing the locks and they keep getting in, they’re probably already in the house, right?" Maugans said.

Maugans cautioned that without examining the accounts and devices, he cannot determine exactly what is happening in the Williams family's case.

But he said repeated unauthorized transactions after cards are replaced can point to possibilities beyond the physical debit card itself.

One possibility, he said, is that someone has access to the customer's online banking account. Another is that a device used for banking could be compromised by malware.

Maugans also pointed to account-updating services offered through card networks. Those services can provide participating merchants with updated payment information when a customer's card is replaced.

That means, under some circumstances, simply receiving a new card number may not address the underlying source of a compromise.

What consumers can do

For consumers experiencing repeated unauthorized transactions, Maugans recommends going beyond simply replacing the card.

"Go to your bank if you suspect fraud and ask them to pull a record of recent log-ins," he said.

He also recommends looking for devices or locations the customer does not recognize, reviewing digital-wallet access and running malware scans on devices used for online banking.

FOX Chicago also contacted the Better Business Bureau to determine whether it had received complaints matching the specific pattern described by the Williams family. The BBB said it found no complaints matching that pattern.

Bank of America told FOX Chicago it is investigating the Williams family's claims.

For Louise and Brenda, the ordeal has become about more than disputed transactions or replacement cards. They say it has changed the way they feel about accessing the money they earn.

"It’s been to the point where I can’t sleep," Louise said. "I am worried about the stuff that is going to happen to me."

Brenda says she wants greater protection for customers who find themselves repeatedly fighting the same battle.

"You all need to get it together," she said. "You are harming families and seniors and no one is doing anything about it."

For a mother and daughter who spend their working lives caring for others, they say they now want someone to help protect them — and their money.

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