Aaron fell into debt after his checks were stolen
Aaron H. will never know who stole his Social Security checks – twice – and cleaned out his savings account. He only knows two things.
First, he lost $10,000 he’ll never get back. Second, there’s no such thing as guaranteed security online.
“Just like anything else with the internet, even though I have Norton Antivirus and other programs, these hackers and scammers found ways to get around that,” Aaron says.
In January 2025, the 70-year-old knew something was wrong when his Social Security check wasn’t showing up in his bank account like it usually did near the end of the month. Then, “during that week, I noticed both my savings and checking accounts were wiped clean.”
He notified his bank as soon as he realized it, but “they more or less said, ‘Well, we’re sorry and we’ll look into it, but it’s one of those things, you know?’” The bank told him to file a police report, which he did. Yet he never got the money back.
Aaron opened new accounts at a nearby credit union – and February’s Social Security check was stolen, too.
“I thought, OK. new account, new bank, we’ll start all over again. Well, lo and behold, the scammers must have found out where I was at and February’s check came and went – they took all that money. So, for two months, I had no income.”
Eventually, Aaron worked with his new credit union and changed all his account numbers and passwords. He started getting his Social Security checks again. But the damage was done.
Scam-induced debt
The worst part about scams is that even when you can stop them, the damage can last a long time.
While Aaron tried to claw back his Social Security, his lost money meant he needed his credit cards just to make ends meet. Of course, like most Americans, he already was carrying a balance.
“I had to pay my credit cards, and I was paying them less than the minimum amount,” he says. “I was sending them only $10 a month, trying to keep my head above water.”
So even though it had been months since he was scammed, Aaron just couldn’t catch up. He had planned meticulously for his retirement, but he hadn’t planned for this.
“I started looking into things that could help me,” he said. “My credit union wouldn’t give me a loan because my credit score was so bad – that was wiped out when I started making less than the minimum payments.”
Making the Consolidated Credit call
Aaron researched nonprofit credit counseling agencies, but he was wary about being scammed again. His online research taught him a few things: Never make an upfront payment. Look up the reviews. And find a company that’s been around a few decades (on the theory it must be doing something right, because most scams are fly-by-night).
This inevitably led him to Consolidated Credit.
“They went ahead and contacted my debtors. They made a plan for me – something I could live with. If I hadn’t done that, I don’t know. I was actually thinking, ‘Man, what can I sell?’ I’m 70 years old, I don’t have family that could have helped. I just thank God that Consolidated Credit was there to throw me a lifeline.”
The year 2025 was shaping up to be horrible for Aaron. Now it’s looking up.
“I feel the relief,” Aaron says. “When you’re on Social Security like I am, and you’re on a fixed income, you always set out your budget every month. You know when you have extra and when you don’t. I have some medical issues coming up. Now I know it’ll all work out for the best. Thanks to Consolidated Credit.”
Theft forced Aaron into credit card debt. A phone call to Consolidated Credit “threw him a life line.”
