The state issues Link cards to help people with low incomes purchase food. Both women said they tried buying food with their card, but said they couldn’t because a hacker beat them to the punch. The most frustrating part, they said, is that the state refuses to issue a refund.
Tatera Hooks said on Jan. 4, 2022 she was in the hospital battling COVID-19. She beat the virus and returned home to Bronzeville, but when she tried to order groceries she noticed something bizarre.
“When I checked my Link card balance it had only $4.96 on there,” she explained. “I looked on the provider app and I was able to see that there were a total of six transactions that were made on my card, and this all happened in California. I’m like, I wasn’t even in California.”
A total of $1,500 in purchases were made out of state, on the same day Hooks said she was in the hospital.
“I cannot be in two places at once. I cannot be in Chicago and California at the same time while I was battling COVID,” Hooks said. “Plus, the card was in my possession while I was in the hospital.”
She said she doesn’t know anyone in California, and hasn’t shared her card information with anyone.
“I feel like it’s hacking. They scammed my card. If somebody can scam a debit card or a credit card, they can scam a Link card,” she said.
Roymona Owens of McHenry is a mother of three and relies on her Link…
