Often times, thieves will attempt to prey on individuals who have been involved in, or witnessed, a traumatic event, such as a death or a physical crime. Thieves hope that the stress associated with that event will cause you to act and think differently then you would prior to such a trauma.

In one instance reported to the task force, a woman received what purported to be an "affidavit of crime victim" from a financial services company in May of 2004. The affidavit stated that the woman's husband had reported that his checks had been lost or stolen. The letter went on to list a checking account, purchase information from a merchant and the date. The letter requested that the husband provide all of his identification, including social security number, drivers license, mothers maiden name, and date of birth.

The woman immediately became suspicious because her husband had passed away in January of 2004, had not written a check in years, and had not reported any checks as lost or stolen. Furthermore, the return address on the envelope did not match the address of the company.