‘The document trail started with a tour of cemeteries to collect names and dates of births and deaths of children from their tombstones. The next step was to apply for death certificates through the mail and, using the information on them, to apply again through the mail for birth certificates. The birth certificates were then used to accumulate collections of other documents in the various names, including Medicare cards, voting registration and memberships from clubs and libraries.

‘Next the proof of identity documents were presented at branches of the four major banks to open accounts in the various names. By then the bank accounts and array of documentation from government agencies and other organisations were so comprehensive that the false identities were, to all intents and purposes, real people. By using personal information to obtain documents which could be used to prove identity, the perpetrator was able to construct 26 identities before being detected.’

Genesis of this Book

Identity is a feature of modern commerce. It is now routinely required for transactions and ‘identity theft’, unheard of until comparatively recently, is regularly the subject of news, industry and government reports. These developments prompted me to ask, what is one's identity in a transactional context? In particular, what constitutes it? What exactly is its function and what is its legal nature? When I set about answering these questions, I found a lot more than I expected.