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We all want to find our identity. To capitalize on it. For some, it can take a lifetime. For others, mere seconds. Even if it doesn't belong to them.

There is a subreddit called r/ActLikeYouBelong and it has 520K members. Why so many, you ask? It shares stories, pictures, and videos of people pretending to be someone they're not!

From a man posing as a delivery driver and stealing beer to a girl faking her way into a music festival as a photographer, you'll be surprised how many of these evil geniuses get away with it, too.

When it comes to inventing or borrowing an identity, I usually think of Frank Abagnale, the guy whose life inspired Catch Me If You Can. But for this article, I decided to dig a little deeper. And I'm glad I did. There have been plenty of fraudsters who have pulled off remarkable stunts and lived to tell the tale.

Take Perkin Warbeck for example. Chances are, you've never even heard of him. But Warbeck was the perpetrator of one of the most audacious cases of identity theft in history. 

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One Of The Largest Actlikeyoubelong Operations In History

One Of The Largest Actlikeyoubelong Operations In History

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Women Are Not Allowed To Attend Soccer Matches In Iran. 5 Girls Sneak In Azadi Stadium In Disguise To Celebrate Persepolis Championship In Iran's Persian Gulf Pro League

Women Are Not Allowed To Attend Soccer Matches In Iran. 5 Girls Sneak In Azadi Stadium In Disguise To Celebrate Persepolis Championship In Iran's Persian Gulf Pro League

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NsG
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That it's necessary is dreadful, but well done 'lads' for coming up with a creative solution (including one forgoing facial hair!)

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Nowadays, enterprises face real challenges, as sophisticated con men utilize stolen identities to access secure accounts or defraud victims of their finances. But Warbeck was way more ambitious. He was aiming at the ultimate target — the British throne.

In the late 15th century, supporters of the deposed Richard III of York persuaded a naive young Warbeck to assume a new identity. The Yorkist loyalists transformed him to become Richard, Duke of York, and true heir apparent to the throne. Beneath this guise, Warbeck began gathering forces to take the throne from the Tudor King Henry VII.

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#4

Mom Of The Year Or... Dad Of The Year ?

Mom Of The Year Or... Dad Of The Year ?

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Rick
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This isn’t an “evil genius” it’s a mother doing a lovely thing for her son so he wouldn’t feel left out. This one shouldn’t even be on here.

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#5

This Lady Was In A Search Party Looking For... Herself!

This Lady Was In A Search Party Looking For... Herself!

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The ruse was eventually doomed and Warbeck ended up in captivity, but not before his deceit had raised an army of 6,000 men and gathered the support of many European royals of the era. 

Some see Warbeck as a stooge of more nefarious minds, however, his story proves that given the right circumstances, identity fraud can get you a long way.

As for Perkin Warbeck, he was hanged in 1499 after a failed attempt to escape. 

#6

I Give Y'all Permission Too

I Give Y'all Permission Too

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#7

If It Was A Popeyes Then I Would Too

If It Was A Popeyes Then I Would Too

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Vicky Z
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm off my way to test some of the restaurants in my neighborhood.....

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Martin Guerre is also worthy of a mention. He was born a French peasant, married Bertrande, the daughter of a well-to-do family, and after eight years together they had a child. At some point during their marriage, Martin was accused of stealing grain from his father and fled town and his family in 1548, never to be seen again.

That is, until a man named Arnaud du Tilh walked into town and up to Bertrande, claiming to be her husband and father of their child.

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Bertrande was super happy and convinced that her husband had returned. Arnaud had such a striking resemblance to the real Martin Guerre; even his four sisters believed he was truly home.

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Don't Know If This Counts, But I Found This Interesting

Don't Know If This Counts, But I Found This Interesting

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#9

Daron Malakian (Guitarist Of System Of A Down) Pretending To Be A Random Fan And Telling A Magazine How Great The Band Is (1999)

Daron Malakian (Guitarist Of System Of A Down) Pretending To Be A Random Fan And Telling A Magazine How Great The Band Is (1999)

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“Martin Guerre”, aka Arnaud du Tilh, lived three years with Bertrande and her son, even having a child together. The townspeople, however, remained suspicious. Eventually, they had raised so much fuss, there was a trial against the imposter after “Martin Guerre” tried to claim an inheritance from his newly deceased father.

The sentence was passed down, but Arnaud du Tilh appealed the verdict and almost convinced the court of his innocence. However, at the very last moment, the real Martin Guerre emerged with a wooden leg and forgotten knowledge of the past.

In the end, Bertrande and Martin’s four sisters attested that it was truly him, and Arnaud du Tilh was sentenced to death by hanging for adultery and fraud in 1560.

The middle ages were wild!

#10

Painted This Mural Illegally During Daytime By Acting Like I Belonged

Painted This Mural Illegally During Daytime By Acting Like I Belonged

I put a plastic cover over the ground, installed a ladder and put on painting overalls. The mural is on a trail connecting two neighbourhoods so there were frequent passerby, people walking dogs, etc.. I basically ignored them and kept working calmly. Only one dude tried to call my bluff. He shouted something like ‘hey stop, what are you doing?’, but i didn’t look up and only turned around a few seconds later to pick up a different color, so he assumed i was legit.

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#11

Getting Backstage With Wikipedia

Getting Backstage With Wikipedia

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#13

My Dad Disguising Himself To Get In The Yearbook Twice (1980s)

My Dad Disguising Himself To Get In The Yearbook Twice (1980s)

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#14

The Day I Pretended To Be Tmz To Get This Photo Of Tom Hiddleston.

The Day I Pretended To Be Tmz To Get This Photo Of Tom Hiddleston.

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#15

Dad Couldn’t Get A Reservation At A Restaurant, Calls Back Pretending To Be Prime Minister Of Morocco. Gets Best Seat In The House And Signs A Plate For The Chef

Dad Couldn’t Get A Reservation At A Restaurant, Calls Back Pretending To Be Prime Minister Of Morocco. Gets Best Seat In The House And Signs A Plate For The Chef

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#17

Snuck Into A Festival Using Bottles Of Water And A Hi Vis Vest

Snuck Into A Festival Using Bottles Of Water And A Hi Vis Vest

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K Witmer
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My friends and I buried bottles of alcohol on the grounds of a festival the night before it began. We dug them up so we wouldn't have to pay for drinks. They're expensive

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#18

Mad Lad Eats For Free

Mad Lad Eats For Free

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#19

Comedian Gallagher Saw Me Signing To My Deaf Son In Front Of The Stage At His Show In Alaska And Assumed I Was An Interpreter For Him. I Signed The Whole Show On Stage (Me Far Left)

Comedian Gallagher Saw Me Signing To My Deaf Son In Front Of The Stage At His Show In Alaska And Assumed I Was An Interpreter For Him. I Signed The Whole Show On Stage (Me Far Left)

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#20

A Powerful Weapon In Your Arsenal

A Powerful Weapon In Your Arsenal

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Aisling Raye
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don't do this --> find local event staffing company that does all the big events in your area. Find out what they wear (hint it's usually black pants and some color polo.) Dress the same for free access to concerts, football games etc. Since the venue is hiring a larg number of people through a staffing agency they won't know who you are or if you belong or not. Most employees don't even know the other employees. I never did this, never knew other college kids that did this. It has definitely never worked.

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#21

Sigma Males Dont Pay For Drugs

Sigma Males Dont Pay For Drugs

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#22

Back When Aol Was A Thing

Back When Aol Was A Thing

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#24

Youtube Streamer Pretends To Play Ufc So He Could Stream The Entire Ppv Without Being Copyrighted

Youtube Streamer Pretends To Play Ufc So He Could Stream The Entire Ppv Without Being Copyrighted

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#25

This Kid From My School Is An Absolute Legend. Just Read The Caption Below The Picture.

This Kid From My School Is An Absolute Legend. Just Read The Caption Below The Picture.

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#28

That Will Be 9.95$ With Senior Discount

That Will Be 9.95$ With Senior Discount

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#29

Can Substitute Uniform For Clipboard

Can Substitute Uniform For Clipboard

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#30

I Was Cleaning The Basement And Found This. My Daughter And Her Boyfriend Made These And Walked Right Into A Concert. No Questions Asked.

I Was Cleaning The Basement And Found This. My Daughter And Her Boyfriend Made These And Walked Right Into A Concert. No Questions Asked.

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#31

Man Stole $122m From Facebook And Google By Sending Them Random Bills, Which The Companies Dutifully Paid

Man Stole $122m From Facebook And Google By Sending Them Random Bills, Which The Companies Dutifully Paid

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beastmachine.
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That reminds of when once Google forgot to pay for it's website hosting and someone just bought the domain name for few bucks, they then paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the guy who later donated all that money

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#32

Nothing To See Here Just A Very Realistic Mannequin

Nothing To See Here Just A Very Realistic Mannequin

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#33

Man Brings Life Jacket, Nerf Guns, And Vacuum To A 2nd Amendment Protest

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#35

It's Cold Outside And I Was Tired Of Standing. Found A Pen And Paper And Now I'm With Stats And Press

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#36

Snuck Into Vip Section Of A Concert. We Noticed The Special Wristbands Looked Awfully Simaler To Our Water Bottle Wrappers

Snuck Into Vip Section Of A Concert. We Noticed The Special Wristbands Looked Awfully Simaler To Our Water Bottle Wrappers

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Ancsuri
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

the wrappers are usually sticky at the back, with a bit of creativity you dont need tape

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#38

A Few Years Ago I Impersonated A Journalist To Get Into Bernie Sanders' Press Conference For The Release Of His Book, Got On TV, And Then Told Him Afterwards What I Did

A Few Years Ago I Impersonated A Journalist To Get Into Bernie Sanders' Press Conference For The Release Of His Book, Got On TV, And Then Told Him Afterwards What I Did

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#39

The Story Of Emmanuel Nwude And The Imaginary Airport Isn’t As Simple As Those Emails You Get From Time To Time Asking For Your Bank Details, But The Essential Elements – Nigeria And Scamming Are Present And Correct

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#40

A Scientist That Changed Many Lives And Did What He Loved Until His Death.

A Scientist That Changed Many Lives And Did What He Loved Until His Death.

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