I Found My Entire Identity for Sale Online for $15- Exclusive Interview with Phillip Shoemaker
Phillip Shoemaker spent years at the center of one of the most consequential trust systems ever built - Apple's App Store. As Director of App Store Review, he oversaw the processes that determined what millions of people could and couldn't download onto their devices. After leaving Apple in 2016, he moved deeper into the identity space, serving as Executive Director of Identity.com, a non-profit pioneering decentralized identity verification on the blockchain. Today, he is the founder of PersonaShield, a platform built to detect and counter AI-generated identity fraud. His path into this work isn't purely professional - he has been SIM-swapped, impersonated, and found his own complete identity profile for sale online for fifteen dollars. That experience, as much as anything, explains why he's building what he's building.
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"You don’t step into leadership when you feel ready. You step into leadership when you decide to trust yourself."
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Can You Trust What You See Online? - Brainz Podcast with Phillip Shoemaker
Phillip Shoemaker, a former Apple App Store executive and author of Unbreakable, joins the Brainz Magazine podcast for a fascinating conversation on AI fraud, digital identity, deepfakes, and the growing crisis of trust in the digital world. After spending years helping build trust and safety into the App Store, Phillip found himself on the other side of the threat when his own phone was hijacked, his identity was impersonated, and his voice was cloned. In this episode, he opens up about how that experience changed his understanding of online security and why he believes everyday people are now at serious risk.
The conversation explores how AI has made fraud faster, cheaper, and more convincing, from SIM swapping and phishing scams to voice cloning, deepfake videos, and family-targeted impersonation. Phillip also shares why traditional advice around passwords and two-factor authentication is no longer enough, and what people can start doing now to better protect themselves and their loved ones.
