"It absolutely destroyed my credit!" Identity theft sends man into financial turmoil

“It absolutely destroyed my credit!” Identity theft sends man into financial turmoil

"It absolutely destroyed my credit!" Identity theft sends man into financial turmoil

CHICAGO (WITI) — Dozens of credit cards and thousands spent! One man racked up some big bills. The problem? He didn't do any of the shopping.

"They were spending $6,000 here and $7,000 there and, in addition to that, my bank account was being changed in such a way they were taking money out of my bank account almost everyday for a period of time," said a victim of identity theft who didn't want to reveal his identity.

While away on business for six weeks, he had his identity stolen and his credit destroyed. When he returned, there were dozens of calls from merchants saying he owned money. But, he had never applied for credit cards from any of the stores.

Postal inspectors say Ray Slaughter did by stealing victims' personal identifiers.

"Name, date of birth, social security number, anything that it would take to open up a credit card in the victims name," explained U.S. Postal Inspector Jerry Phillips.

Ray Slaughter is in jail after stealing the identities of 26 people.

Sometimes, Slaughter would take 8 to 10 credit cards with one victim's information and go on a shopping spree. Inspectors were tipped off to the case after a victim realized her credit card statement had been changed to a new address and not by her.

"We drove by the house several times conducting surveillance," recalled Phillips.

Inspectors waited for trash day and found what they needed after Slaughter's trash was picked up.

"There would be a lot of credit cards ripped up, a lot of statements in the victim's name," Phillips said.

Slaughter was arrested and served a year and a half in prison. But, when he got out went back to his old ways.

In all, there were 26 victims who lost thousands.

Slaughter is behind bars again, but his victims are reeling from his crime.

"It destroyed my credit — it absolutely destroyed my credit. My credit went as low as it could possibly go,and it took a year and a half and a lot of money to get it fixed," the identity theft victim revealed.

The issues are not all financial. Victims are still going through emotional struggles as well.

"Very, very, frightening. It really is debilitating. You go to the bank day in and day out and you don't know if you are going to have any money. You don't know what accounts are going to be opened next. So, it really steals a lot from you," the victim said.

All consumers should get a free yearly credit report to stay on top of all their credit card activity.

Also, monitor all of your bank statements online each month — that could help you find any discrepancies quickly.