The use of fake ID is a no laughing matter, but you have to wonder sometimes at some of the methods used by would-be fraudsters.
Not content with trying to produce forged documents belonging to any other person, one Brazilian man took it a stage further by trying to pass himself as Hollywood legend Jack Nicholson.
41-year-old Ricardo Sergio Freire de Barros, from the north-eastern city of Recife, used a 2003 photograph of the Batman and Shining star on his fake documents.
Police later released a copy of the forged document which shows a photo of Nicholson’s face next to the signature of “Joao Pedro dos Santos” and a fingerprint.
Barros, who has little if any resemblance to Jack Nicholson, was later charged with both using false documents, carrying ID belonging to other people, and forgery.
“The document with the photo of the actor and other false identification were used to start a fictitious company and with it, also open a bank account,” said chief investigator Erivaldo Guerra.
“That way, he would use the limits on the checks and the credit cards to steal money.”
Barros had already been under investigation for three months, for fraudulent activity, when he was arrested.
Of course, ID fraud can happen to anyone – and even the dimmest fraudsters would usually realise that it’s best not to use a photograph of someone extremely famous.
Remember that with ProtectMyID membership you will be alerted to any sign of identity fraud and your credit report will be monitored for changes. If you suspect that you have been a victim of fraud, then ProtectMyID’s Fraud resolution assistance will ensure a dedicated caseworker will work with you to help you sort everything out from start to finish.
