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b"Confessions of a former identity thief\\xa0\\nDartanyon A. Williams stole his parents' identities at the age of 15. Unfortunately, they weren\\u2019t his last victims. Dartanyon, who also goes by DAW, claims he has stolen thousands of identities. So many that he lost count.\\xa0\\nHow to steal someone\\u2019s identity\\nHow did he do it? He had many tactics. But the most proven technique was paying off employees at restaurants, car dealerships, and tax preparation companies. These employees served as double agents. When no one was looking, they would collect customer social security numbers and smuggle them to DAW. Today, DAW\\u2019s life of crime is behind him. He\\u2019s currently running for congress this November for the U.S. House to represent Louisiana's 6th Congressional District.\\xa0\\nHow to protect your identity\\nThese days, it\\u2019s just as easy to steal your identity from a breached database. Everything an identity thief needs to steal your identity is already online. What can you do to protect yourself?\\xa0\\nClick here to see if your email has been involved in a breached database:\\nhttps://haveibeenpwned.com/\\nFreezing your credit and setting up a fraud alert\\nI\\u2019ve taken the extreme step of freezing my credit. It\\u2019s actually not really that extreme. In fact, it\\u2019s quite easy. In this episode, you\\u2019ll hear how simple it is to lock down your credit so that no one can assume your identity.\\xa0\\nMichael Bazzell, a privacy consultant, walks me through the credit freeze process. For more details, download his step-by-step guide.\\xa0\\nEssentially, get a free credit report from one of the credit bureaus, then ask them to freeze your credit. This way, no one can open a line of credit under your name. If you ever need to unfreeze your credit, it\\u2019s easy. Just unfreeze your credit by going online or with a quick phone call.\\xa0\\nEquifax\\nOnline: https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/\\nExperian\\nOnline: https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html\\nTransUnion\\nOnline: https://service.transunion.com/dss/orderStep1_form.page\\n\\nMichael Bazzell\\nTo learn more about Michael Bazzell, check out his website IntelTechniques.com and listen to his podcast The Privacy, Security, & OSINT show.\\xa0\\nI also recommend you buy a copy of Extreme Privacy: What it takes to disappear.\\n\\n-------\\nStory idea? \\nIf you have a story to share, email Javier a voice memo or short written description at info@pretendradio.org.\\n\\nFor more episodes like this visit pretendradio.org.\\n\\nTo get early releases and bonus episodes go to pretendradio.org/donate\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices"