Same thing happened to me by COLLECT CORP! They stole my SSN and filled an R9 on my file wich was a lie. I couldnt get my school loans because of it. Couldnt afford to get a lawyer so I just had to deal with the identity theft untill they "felt" like dealing with it. Put a huge dent in my life just for 166$ that COLLECTCORP felt they needed to scam for spare change.
As for how many times this happens? Think about it, how many people will accually pay the jerks... every 5 bucks adds up! Think about the elderly people who are targeted who dont know any better or think since they have all of their info, that it must be real.
Its not fair and should be illegal for these theives to have access to our infomation.
But you gotta be honest, these guys have a pretty good buisness going on - legal extortion