A woman in Seattle Washington who had been a victim of identity theft played a key role in helping catch and convict the people who had stolen her identity.

According to court documents and a report filed in the Seattle Times, Michelle McCambridge, 23, a part time retail clerk and college student became aware that she had become a victim of identity theft when bills began arriving for retail credit cards she had never opened. Infuriated, she sought and was finally able to see a grainy photo of a woman opening a credit card in her name captured by a surveillance camera.

Only a week later, McCambridge was shocked to look up and see what she believed to be the same woman standing in front of her counter at JC Penny, seeking to open a credit account. Thinking quickly, she excused herself, long enough to alert her manager to put the store's security cameras on the woman to get detailed shots from different angles.

Those photos helped police catch a five person ring that, according to court documents, had been responsible for defrauding almost 50 people of tens of thousands of dollars.