Most of us have, at one time or another, wanted to create a new identity for ourselves-a clean slate, a chance to start anew, with no mistakes and no past transgressions to haunt us. But can you legally create a new identity for yourself, or will you be digging yourself a criminal hole? And what happens if you try to assume a new identity?
In the United States, our identities are not based on where we were born or who our parents are or what color hair we have. Instead, we are marked by our social security numbers, which change only in the rarest of circumstances and are with us the rest of our lives. When we get a new job, pay our taxes, apply for a loan, take out a mortgage or use a bank account, that social security number defines us.
To create a new identity for yourself, you would have to change your social security number, and this is not legal unless you have permission from a judge and a court order. Individuals placed in Witness Protection sometimes receive a new social security number, but other than that, your chances are very slim. The U.S. government keeps tracks of us through social security for a good reason, and they don’t want people to be able to create new identities.
You can legally create a new identity for yourself professionally or personally, either by changing your name or by moving to a new area, but your past will still follow you. Most people want to change their identities to avoid the consequences of criminal convictions, bad credit decisions, financial blunders and poor work history, but your best bet is to overcome those past transgressions by improving your current life.
In fact, if you are caught trying to create a new identity for yourself, the criminal penalties can be high. For one thing, it is considered fraud, and you’ll be liable for that crime on top of any civil penalties you may have incurred.
The most popular way that scam artists, con men and other criminals have used to create new identities is by assuming the name and social security number of an infant who died on or around their birth date. It is fairly easy to search death records at a local county courthouse, or to buy a subscription to a computer database. They usually choose infants whose first names are the same as their own, which makes it easier to slip into the new persona.
Of course, this is illegal, but it sometimes escapes detection for years. Death records, social security records and credit histories are notoriously out of sync, and if the death wasn’t reported to other U.S. agencies, even the DMV may be none-the-wiser. Again, however, this is not a legal way to create a new identity, and can result in serious consequences.
People have also obtained EINs (employer identification numbers) and used same in place of their social security numbers for both business and personal reasons. This is similarly punishable as fraud if you don’t acknowledge that you are the same person as the one associated with your EIN, and you’ll also face tax consequences with the IRS.
