British Comic Describes Identity Theft Run-In
It makes perfect sense for an identity thief to try and impersonate a celebrity. After all, most celebrities are rich, and information about their personal lives is easy to find on the Internet.
But when thieves tried to steal the identity of British actor Ricky Gervais, they displayed new levels of laziness, incompetence or both. Gervais is famous in the UK for his role as David Brent in the original TV version of “The Office. His fame continues to grow in the States, where he starred alongside Jennifer Garner in the movie “The Invention of Lying.”
Just as Gervais’s career took off, in 2002, con men used his identity to steal £200,000 ($301,000) from Gervais’s bank account, according to the Daily Mail. They could have gotten away with just the cash, but instead they decided to use an inside contact at Gervais’s bank to try and convert the money into gold bullion. Another bank employee became suspicious and contacted police.
What made the second bank worker suspect something was amiss? Well, in most cases the thieves use a photo of someone anonymous to match with the identity theft victim’s information. In this case, however, the less-than-cunning con men clipped the high-profile celebrity’s photo from a DVD box for the first season of “The Office” to use on a “passport.”
"I tell you what, we were laughing for ten minutes,” Gervais said of his conversation with the investigating police officer when he first saw the fake passport. "How did they think they were going to get away with it?"
In the end, they got away with nothing. The thieves were sentenced to jail.
Many people strive to become famous these days. (Witness the White House crashers and Balloon Boy’s parents.) Identity thieves are always on the prowl for new identities, and the recently famous or infamous make perfect targets because they may be making a lot of money for the first time in their lives, with none of the measures in place to protect themselves that most longtime celebrities use.
So if you should find yourself trying out for a reality TV show, or even just being interviewed on the local TV news, here are a few steps you should take to mitigate your risk of identity theft:
• Monitor your checking account and all your credit accounts for irregular activity. Do this with each monthly statement, and more often online.
• If you have no major credit purchases coming up, consider placing a freeze on your credit accounts.
• Only carry what you need in your purse or wallet, and keep everything else at home or in a safety deposit box. A newly recognizable face is an invitation for skilled pickpockets.
