I now have two experiences of identity theft.

They both involve cars.

In both instances I was only aware that part of my identity had been stolen when the authorities came looking for me.

The first time I came across the issue of identity theft was a few years ago now.

I was sat at my desk when the PA for the most senior manager resident in that building phoned me. This was unusual but not completely unexpected. When she said “Can you come upstairs immediately please!” I was a starting to get worried. My worries were confirmed when I walked through the door and was introduced to two police officers from CID.

Their first question was exactly what you would expect it to be “Can you tell me what you were doing on the xxth of xxxmonth?”.

Like most people I had absolutely no idea off the top of my head. I excused myself and went to retrieve my diary. It turns out that on the day in question I had traveled back from Washington DC overnight, landed in the UK in the early morning and then gone home to bed.

The whole story is quite a long one, so all truncate it to keep it short.

It turns out that a car identical to mine had been used by a gang of individuals who had stolen a load of laptops from a hotel in London. When I say identical, I mean identical, color, model and registration plate.

The time between my plane landing and the time of the robbery gave me enough time to get to London and commit the crime, a time when I had no alibi because I was alone.

How do you prove you weren’t somewhere, unless you can prove you were somewhere else. In my case I couldn’t prove where I was, because I was the only one there. That was at least what I thought at the time, it turns out that I picked the kids up from school that day and others remembered me doing it.

I no longer have that car, but I do wonder whether the new owner has ever had any more trouble from its other identity.

Fortunately the CCTV that had captured my car also captured the gang, and I didn’t look anything like any of the gang members. I never got to see the CCTV but I did spend a few hours helping the police and having my photo taken.

My second experience of identity theft arrived today in the form of a bill from my car leasing company.

Attached to the bill was a Penalty Charge Notice which stated that I was in London a few weeks ago and stopped illegally in a box junction. 

This time I was sent photographic evidence and apparently my car morphed from being a VW to being an Audi somewhere between my home and London. The number plate is mine, but the car isn’t.

This one is, at least, easier to rebuff but it doesn’t stop the fact that a car is driving around London with my car’s number plate on it. That part of my identity is no longer exclusively mine, it’s been hijacked. There is no knowing what traffic violations will start to arrive.

In a sense this is trivial compared to how bad it could be. It’s just hassle sorting it out. As an example of how vulnerable our identity is it should make us all think. It also makes me wonder about how much of my identity is being used elsewhere around the globe without my knowledge.

How much of my identity do I just give away without even thinking about it? If you knew where to look on the Web I suspect you could find out enough about me to be convincing enough if you wanted to impersonate me.

tags: identity+theft