MOUNT AIRY, Md. — He looked the part with his work clothes, safety vest and hard hat.

He was even driving a big, white truck.

And when the man, seen in home security video, showed up at the door of a home on Legion Drive in Mount Airy, a woman who does not wish to be identified, assumed he was the real thing.

"I thought it was someone from the electric company,” the woman told us. “I went to the door and he was talking very fast and pointed to the road and want to know, 'Do I have electric out there? Do I have electric out there?'"

In a matter of seconds, she would be fighting for her life.

"I couldn't understand what he was saying and so I said, 'Excuse me?', and he forced... grabbed me by the throat and forced me into the house," added the victim. "We fought and then he tied me up."

Upon closer inspection, the man who proceeded to rob his victim wore sunglasses to try to hide his identity, and gloves presumably so he wouldn't leave any fingerprints, but detectives with the Frederick County Sheriff's Office are hopeful tipsters will recognize him.

In addition to the stolen money, the victim's family says the man took something from them that will be far more difficult to replace.

"If you can't feel safe in your own home, then where are you going to feel safe at?” said Jay Henley. “It's just a traumatizing experience and I don't know if you ever bounce back from something like this. You know, always looking over your shoulder."

"My life flashed before my eyes," the victim told us.

A brutal attack and home invasion, which she feels may have been anything, but random.

"My house was broken into a year ago so I'm pretty sure it was the same person."

If you recognize the suspect or his truck, you're asked to call Detective McGuire with the Frederick County Sheriff's Office at 301-600-4131.