Tell Us Your Favorite Case of “Identity Theft” in History or Literature; Win One Year Subscription to ITAC Sentinel to Protect Your Identity
Some people think identity theft is a new phenomenon. The truth is, it’s been around for a long time. Classic literature is full of characters who assume another identity for love, for money or for revenge. Think of Rosalind in Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” who disguises herself as a young man to win love and recover her birthright.
You could call the Trojan horse a case of group identity theft since it allowed Greek soldiers to enter Troy by hiding inside. Sir Francis Walsingham was the first covert spy under Queen Elizabeth I, and the list goes on and on…
What’s your favorite example of identity theft from literature or history? The person who posts the most interesting and unusual case will win a free one-year subscription to ITAC Sentinel Plus.
ITAC Sentinel Plus delivers 3-in-1 credit bureau monitoring and alerts, daily internet surveillance, and ITAC’s outstanding identity theft recovery.
The contest will run from June 1, 2009 through June 9, 2009. Post your submission in the comment section of this post!
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Im particularly fascinated by the activitivities of Frank Imbagnale who is said to at one point pretend to be a qualified lawyer, flew a plan on the pretense of being a pilot, assumed post as doctor yet he was none of these. You can read more on frank at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Abagnale . Hope this wins
Great example. But Mr. Abagnale didn’t “pretend” to be a lawyer. He sat for and passed the Bar Exam. His pretense was to be a law scholl graduate! But there’s a difference between a disguise, a false identity, and identity theft.
Three wonderful examples in literature are Mark Twain’s “The Prince and the Pauper,” Twain’s “Puddin’head Wilson,” and Alexander Dumas’ “The Man in the Iron Mask.”
But my favorite, and this may be history or literature depending on your heritage, is the earliest example of identity theft. It’s in the Bible, where Jacob impersonated his brother Esau to obtain the birthright from their father Isaac.
The Tichbourne Claimant is probably the most interesting real life case because the impostor, Arthur Orton, was so unlike the missing Sir Tichbourne, yet there were so many who wanted to believe him to be that man despite seemingly copious evidence that he was not.
This is in contrast to the more recent and somewhat more plausible David Hampton scam (which inspired the Six Degrees of Separation play/film…how’s that for a LinkedIn tie-in?)
It is a wonder how frauds “con”-tinuously try-and often succeed-in pulling the wool over trusting dupes’ eyes; these schemes simultaneously depict man’s noble and baser natures.
Oh gosh this is simple…….
Jacob stole the birthright. He tricked his blind father, Isaac into giving it to him instead of Essau. How? He wore an animal skin to falsify his brother’s biometric – body hairy – so that Isaac believed that he was blessing Essau when in fact it was Jacob.
Not only did he steal his brother’ identity, but he falsified the biometric standard of his time……..
An interesting twist to identity theft is Jane Seymour, the actress, who used a well known character in history, the 3rd wife of Henry the Eighth, to make herself instantly famous.
On October 16th 1906, wearing the uniform of a Captain in the German army, Wilhelm Voigt conned a number of soldiers in Koepenick Germany into arresting the mayor for “crooked bookkeeping” after which Voigt “confiscated” 4000 Marks – Arnold, B – Apparitions (2008) Identity Crime: Apparitions. Retrieved August 20, 2008, from http://www.caslon.com.au/idcrimeguide3.htm
How about “The Prince and the Pauper” by Mark Twain.
The prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope. Also the talented Mr Ripley the Pat Highsmith book and movie featuring Jude Law and Matt Damon
Uther Pendragron, the father of King Arthur is a good candidate. With the help of Merlin he took on the likeness of of his enemy Gorlios in order to sleep with Gorlios’ wife, the Lady Igraine. The result of which was the birth of Arthur.
So we not only have identity theft, he also have conspiracy between Uther and Merlin to accomplish the theft. So I guess you could say that it is an “identity theft ring”