Looking for examples of Identity Thieves

November 11, 2015 1:12 PM

Hi there Brilliants, I'm looking for examples of identity thieves in movies, tv, literature, comics, etc. Or for articles about techniques these thieves use. Even something like "Catch Me If You Can" is helpful. I'm looking for techniques that these thieves use. I am not a thief! I am just doing some research for a story to help out a student. Thanks so much for your help!
posted by sunnyblues48 to Media & Arts (22 answers total)

Don't have any links, but have heard of people getting in through being FB friended. Very often the person asking to be friended has some sexy profile pics and a very thin profile. It is apparently a way for hackers to get in. Good luck!
posted by TenaciousB at 1:21 PM on November 11, 2015

I did not watch it, so I don't know how realistic it was, but there was Identity Thief.
posted by sparklemotion at 1:24 PM on November 11, 2015

There is an old but possibly still relevant bit in The Day of the Jackal (1971) where the assassin visits a graveyard and identifies the grave of a baby that was born at about the same time as him. He then applies for identity papers in the baby's name. This was apparently a real thing, and the action needed to stop it didn't happen until 2003, or maybe 2007. If it stopped at all.

It happens in the novel, I can't remember if it happens in the film as well.
posted by biffa at 1:26 PM on November 11, 2015

The Talented Mr. Ripley, for an old-school approach
Face/Off, for an overly-literal approach
posted by mkultra at 1:28 PM on November 11, 2015

The Imposter - a documentary about Frédéric Bourdin. Crazy story.
posted by lindseyg at 1:39 PM on November 11, 2015

All the Mission: Impossible TV shows and movies.
posted by JoeZydeco at 1:55 PM on November 11, 2015

Supernatural talks about this in season 10 with Claire Novak when she is thinking about becoming a hunter (how they pay for their hotels/food/gas/supernatural killing supplies).
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 2:11 PM on November 11, 2015

The story of Martin Guerre has been dramatized a number of times.
posted by mkultra at 2:22 PM on November 11, 2015

Talk Talk (2006) by T. C. Boyle. I read it back when it was published, but if I recall
right, you should get a good idea of how the thief got the protaganist's ID. Plus,
who turns down a reason to read T. C. Boyle (ignoring the Road to Wellville, but
that's another post)?
posted by morspin at 2:39 PM on November 11, 2015

Not an example, but the NY Times basically walks you through some possible ways to do it.
posted by AppleTurnover at 2:48 PM on November 11, 2015

A good term to use in a search would be 'social engineering'.
posted by Too-Ticky at 3:31 PM on November 11, 2015

Focus, with Margot Robbie and Will Smith, talks a little about this in the big montage about their crew working the crowds in New Orleans.
posted by jimw at 4:05 PM on November 11, 2015

Um...Identity Thief, with Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman. Bonus: hilarious.
posted by sexyrobot at 4:31 PM on November 11, 2015

Gerald Barnbaum, aka Dr. Barnes. CNBC occasionally reruns the episode of American Greed featuring his story.
posted by SisterHavana at 5:03 PM on November 11, 2015

"To Rise Again at a Decent Hour" by Joshua Ferris is a wonderful novel on exactly this topic.
posted by q9f9A at 5:18 PM on November 11, 2015

Orson Welles last movie F for Fake [full movie on YouTube] weaves together a few different stories. One of these stories is the story of Clifford Irving who faked the "autobiography" of Howard Hughes. Irving forged Hughes signature for contracts, and even had friends impersonate him on the phone for meetings with the publishers. Another interesting example of someone "stealing" a famous person's identity is the "counterfeit Kubrick" Alan Conway. That story was also made into a movie called Colour Me Kubrick starring John Malkovich.
posted by 2ghouls at 5:20 PM on November 11, 2015

Color Me Kubrick is a movie starring John Malkovich who plays a man who successfully impersonated Stanley Kubrick despite looking and acting nothing like him. Apparently based on a true story.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 7:27 PM on November 11, 2015

CSI: Miami had an episode specifically about identity theft where they have to investigate a murder involving two women who claim to be the same person. The episode is available for streaming on both Hulu and Netflix in the US.
posted by i feel possessed at 7:34 PM on November 11, 2015

"The Art of Deception : Controlling the Human Element of Security" by Kevin Mitnick has some excellent social engineering stories.
posted by Marky at 8:48 PM on November 11, 2015

Bones. The title character's family assume a new identity and there are a couple episodes dealing with the name change and young children. There are also several episodes where the suspect or victim have changed their identity EG: "Soccer Mom in the Mini-Van" and "The Truth in the Lye".
posted by Mitheral at 6:40 AM on November 12, 2015

Two book series about cons & con artists that go into some detail on the work the characters put into it (caveat: both are in fantasy universes but magic isn't the primary way they make their cons work):
Curse Worker's by Holly Black

Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
posted by carrioncomfort at 8:20 AM on November 12, 2015

The movie Chameleon Street is a documentary about a William Douglas Street, who was able to impersonate a variety of people including a doctor (and narrowly missed having to operate on a patient without any medical training). It's a fun movie, but Mr. Street is in the news again after impersonating a defense contractor to get a job and "pick up women." The Detroit News has a piece about this latest episode, with some background on his life.
posted by SandiBeech at 5:54 PM on November 12, 2015