Cloning

Identity “Cloning”

CHARACTER IDENTITY THEFT is also known as  “Cloning.”  No, not the medical or scientific cloning you hear about in the news.  We can save that for the year 2100 when somebody steals your DNA and makes a real clone of you!  Character identity theft is when somebody has assumes your life, and live it someplace else.  They have become you.

They get married, have children, work a job, everything a person does to lead a normal life, but in your name.  They may even use your credentials, if you have them, to imposter you professionally.  This can happen easily if you have a common surname like Smith, Jones, and even a “foreign” common name like Patel, or Colon.  The mix-up can go on for years undetected, or assumed to just be a mistake in your credit reports.  After all, most credit reports have misspellings and bad addresses. Even with a not so common name as Listerman it is possible to have these errors.  So, is it a mistake or your clone?  More often than not it is just a mistake.

However, be aware, in case it does not get corrected because it is verified to be true by your clone.  Then you have the problem of who is the “real you.”  Even if you take the time to straighten this out, the mix-up of character will probably go on forever.  If there is no significant crime committed, you may never know.