Dartanyon A. Williams (DAW) stole his parents’ identities at the age of 15.

Unfortunately, they weren’t his last victims. Dartanyon, who also goes

by DAW, claims he has stolen thousands of identities. So many that he’s

lost count. It’s rare to hear firsthand from an identity thief. In this

episode, Dartanyon

How to steal someone’s identity

How did he do it? He had many tactics. But the most proven technique

was paying off restaurant employees, car dealerships, and tax

preparation companies. These employees served as double agents. When no

one was looking, they would collect customers' social security numbers and

smuggle them to DAW. Today, DAW’s life of crime is behind him. He even ran for Congress for the U.S. House of Representatives.

How to protect your identity

These days, it’s 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?

Click here to see if your email has been involved in a breached database:

https://haveibeenpwned.com/

Freezing your credit and setting up a fraud alert

I’ve taken the extreme step of freezing my credit. It’s actually not

really that extreme. In fact, it’s quite easy. In this episode, you’ll

hear how simple it is to lock down your credit so that no one can assume

your identity.

Michael Bazzell, a privacy consultant, walks me through the credit freeze process. For more details, download his step-by-step guide.

Essentially, 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’s easy. Just unfreeze your credit by going online or with a quick

phone call.

Equifax

Online: https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/

Experian

Online: https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html

TransUnion

Online: https://service.transunion.com/dss/orderStep1_form.page

If you just stumbled on this page, start with part 1.

Michael Bazzell

To learn more about Michael Bazzell, check out his website IntelTechniques.com

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