PORTAGE, Mich. — On December 15, Tara Trotter said her husband was letting his car warm up while he stepped inside to grab his wallet. She said he found their young daughter had woken up, and he then led her back to bed.
"He came in to me and said, Tara, the car's gone," recalled Trotter as her husband had gone out to find the car had been taken from their driveway, along with the car seats, strollers, and Christmas gifts that were inside.
"We thought that things were going to kind of calm down and then on Saturday, credit hits started alerting that they were trying to open credit cards first in my name, and then I locked everything down, and then in my husband's name," said Trotter.
Among the precautions taken after the first car theft due to the suspects having her husband's key ring, were changing locks and adding more cameras to their home, but Trotter said they never thought the registration inside her husband's car would lead to their identities being stolen.
"I feel like a lot of people do not know that even though you are legally required to carry your registration in your car, it is a major way that people can steal your identity," Trotter said. "They can steal it because you have your full names on the registration, and then they have your address and the VIN number to the car, which will lead directly to your social security number."
Doorbell footage from a neighbor captured the moment the suspects returned on December 22, driving Trotter's husband's car to steal her own, using the spare key on her husband's key ring.
"This can happen to anyone," Trotter said as they hope their story can help keep others safe, adding "be aware of what you have on your key ring because the reason they were able to take our second car is because my husband had an extra key to my car on his key ring."
Police recovered one of their vehicles, which was found to have been covered in spray paint. Car seats, strollers and other items were all missing.
"We have had to, you know basically wipe out our savings to get copies of police reports for creditors, for rental deposits. We haven't even started paying deductibles yet. We haven't started doing any of that stuff yet like replacing car seats. We have two young kids," said Trotter. She also explained that their credit has been negatively impacted, worrying that it may take months for the effects of the fraud to be corrected.
While using a car from a friend, they are grateful for community members who have stepped up to help them in their time of need. Trotter said they are trying to focus on the fact that they are all 'healthy and safe," while still trying to give back themselves.
"After the first car was stolen, we took a donation of like things that we had collected of our own volition of doing a wish list for individuals that we know needed things," said Trotter.
She said they also continued to prepare meals for unhoused members of their community.
"It's been really humbling, because we're really proud people, and we've had to really open our life up and say, look, we are in a dire situation," Trotter said.
A GoFundMe for the Trotter family can be found here.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Watch 13 ON YOUR SIDE for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV and on your phone.