It's the holiday season and some cybersecurity experts said this is prime time for identity theft.
Lorraine and Lee Fontenot live in Jeff Davis Parish.
The Fontenots said they know first-hand what it's like being a victim of identity theft.
"I was crying," Lorraine said.
Last year, Lorraine said she noticed large sums of money went missing from her bank account.
"It was bad," Lorraine said. "It was really bad to get everything cleared up."
Her husband, Lee said they're grandparents who live on a fixed income and the experience was devastating.
"People take advantage of your kindness because we had people staying in our house," Lee said. "I think they got a hold of our mail somehow and it became a problem."
John Dymond, Senior Account Manager at iConvergence in Lafayette said there are precautions to help protect yourself and your loved ones.
"Review emails very critically," Dymond said. "A lot of these emails these days are coming with fishing attempts."
Dymond said it's the small details he encourages people to be aware of.
"A lot of the actors will put a character or two different so, it looks like it's coming from somebody that you recognize," Dymond said.
Other Jeff Davis residents like Dwight Drayton said he recommends shoppers use cash as much as possible.
"If you try to use your debit card or credit card, that's usually where identity theft takes place," Drayton said.
