CHANDLER, Ariz. -- Eric Smith was thrilled when he heard Valley law enforcement busted a major identity theft ring with alleged ties to the Mexican mafia.

Smith was one of the victims.

He said he remembers the April morning he discovered someone broke into his garage overnight and stole his wallet, briefcase and laptop out of his truck.

“I felt really violated. Very, very violated," said Eric Smith.

His credit cards and checkbook were also stolen, along with all the tax documents he had in his briefcase.

“If my identity was sold off as a package to someone somewhere, this is something that could come around and bite me five years from now," said Smith.

Smith said the thieves tried to use every single credit card. They were denied most of the time and only managed to charge a few hundred bucks.

"Frankly, it was depressing. It took me weeks to get over the fact that someone was running around out there with my identity," said Smith.

Smith estimated he spent about 80 hours cancelling credit cards, consulting the credit bureaus and working to repair the damage caused by identity thieves.

He's since made a lot of changes -- changes that ID theft experts recommend everyone consider making.

Smith no longer leaves personal information in his vehicle. He carries only a few credit cards and even keeps his social security card locked up. He also monitors his credit regularly.

Experts also recommend picking up your mail daily.

"You hear this over and over again - - 'It could never happen to me.' The reality is that it does happen to everybody all the time. To let your guard down for even a second, it's going to happen," said Smith.