Leonardo DiCaprio was a charming identity thief in "Catch Me If You Can" insofar spectators applauded and sympathized with him. In reality, however, identity theft is rarely charming, and sociopaths only applaud the thieves. After all, what is gay on damaged credit history, devastated reputations and lives ruined?
Identity thieves are motivated by many things, some perhaps understandable, as the need for money. Other motives, however, are just downright strange. Take a look at five of the strangest things ever made with a stolen identity.
The Dead Sea Sock Puppet
On the Internet, a puppet is a false identity used to harass, argue with, or bully people. Most of the time, a puppet takes a fictitious name to conceal the true identity of the writer. Raphael Golb, however, wanted the puppets with credibility.
Golb's father, you see, had developed a dubious theory of the Dead Sea. Golb higher, the University of Chicago professor, became the subject of ridicule by colleagues and other researchers who have studied the manuscripts and Raphael wanted to change that.
So he did what any loyal son would hacked and elder GOLB's the critical identities issuing statements in support of outlandish theories of his father. He also created e-mail accounts in the names of his father's detractors and sent embarrassing disclosures to members of the press.
Needless to say colleagues are not impressed by the loyalty subsidiary Golb. He was arrested for aggravated harassment, identity theft and identity theft crime.
The Corrupt Cheerleader
What do you do if you are 33 years old and not have a high school diploma? Steal the identity of your daughter, of course, to enroll in high school and join the team of cheerleaders for good measure.
Wendy Brown, a Wisconsin woman had a pity party for her and her bastard child. When his 15 year old daughter moved to live with the mother of Brown, Brown stole the identity of her child and returned to school. She managed to fake the cheerleading coach, who invited to a pool party and even gave Brown the locker of a special cheerleader in school.
It is unclear whether Brown get his GED in prison. She faces six years for identity theft.
The suspect Implement
Everyone knows that when a CIA agent goes undercover, he took the name and identity of a person already living in the neighborhood, he is spying on the right? Even so, the cops in Wichita, Kansas, were immediately suspicious when a man checked in a day with them, telling them that he was a secret agent taking the identity of a city resident.
In fact, the strange man disclosure trigger alarm bells with the detectives decided to investigate the "undercover." What they found was beyond belief. The "agent" had taken over the house and of the identity of a man who has been missing for several months caring for her mother.
The fake officer used his assumed identity to take out a second mortgage, buy a lot of nice gadgets and even throw a big barbecue picnic for neighbors of the man out of the city. Needless to say, the cops are not amused and arrested the man on the spot.
The Roommate Reprobate
Take a roommate is a crapshoot, even under the best circumstances. When Brittany Ossenfort Michelle met through mutual acquaintances, she thought she had finally hit the jackpot. Britain and Michelle became fast friends, and Brittany Michelle invited to move in.
Of course, Britain should have been alerted when Michelle started wearing her hair like Brittany and wearing the same clothes. Perhaps Britain would have panicked when Michelle got a tattoo on his hand matching.
Brittany things finally realized when she received a call at work to bail out of jail. Michelle's roommate during his arrest for prostitution, used the ID of Brittany and personal information to its booking documents. To add insult to injury, when Britain convinced the police that Michelle had stolen his identity, the subsequent investigation revealed that Michelle was actually a man named Richard Phillips.
Unfortunately, Britain can never get his name removed from the arrest and charging of documents. On the positive side, however, she has the official paperwork that the government can give the cops if she ever stopped in the future.
The Runaway Bride
Rosa Vargas was eager to be a blushing bride. She chose to love her dress, catering, colors, invitations, place, and tape. She asked his marriage license as soon as she set the date. Everything was perfect.
Here, everything was perfect until the town clerk informed her that she could not be issued a marriage license because she was already married to two other men. Ms. Vargas had his birth certificate stolen when she was just 16; in the intervening years, other women took her identity to commit fraud on immigration. Vargas eventually managed to convince a judge to cancel its false marriages.
Protect Yourself
Identity theft is a growing threat. Celebrities like Tiger Woods, Robert De Niro, Steven Spielberg, and most have had their identities stolen. What is frightening is that you can be legally and financially responsible for the crimes committed by the thief, as in the case of John Sileo.
Foiling identity thieves requires a new and comprehensive view of online threats. It is not enough to think smart passwords and buy anti-virus software. You must be proactive in protecting your information and identity
These tips can help you protect your identity :.
- Look what you share on social media sites. These sites, including Facebook, leverage your personal data for marketing purposes. This leaves you vulnerable to attack. Open a separate email account for use on social networking sites.
- Use a virtual private network (VPN) such as Hotspot Shield, especially if you use public Wi-Fi networks. VPN encrypted Internet communications and hide your IP address, protect your anonymity online.
- Be careful what you open, click or download your mail accounts. Hackers and cyber criminals often attack email.
- Install anti-virus and anti-malware and keep them updated.
- Create random and strong passwords for all your accounts. Also, do not use the same password on multiple accounts.
- Lock sensitive documents in a safe place and shred documents containing your sensitive and private information before discarding.
While the thieves identity doing really strange things, identity theft is no laughing matter. This crime can be far-reaching and long-term ramifications for its victims, and there are no easy solutions once your identity has been stolen. By taking some relatively simple precautions, however, you can protect yourself against the threat of cybercrime.
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