In the movie The Net Angela Bennett, played by the actress Sandra Bullock, goes to the American Consulate to apply for a temporary visa in order to return to the United States, after her purse containing her passport is stolen while she is on vacation in Mexico. In the Consulate office she is approached by a consular officer holding an application form:

Officer: ‘Ruth Marx? Ruth Marx? Excuse me, are you Ruth Marx?’ Angela: ‘No.’

Officer: ‘You are not the woman who was here about a temporary visa?’

Angela: ‘No, I am here about a temporary visa but …’

Officer: ‘Is your social security number 915301717?’

Angela: ‘Yes.’

Officer: ‘Do you live at 407 Finley Avenue, Venice, California?’

Angela: ‘Yes.’

Officer: ‘Well then, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles you are Ruth Marx.

Introduction

In this chapter, I examine the legal function and nature of the new concept of identity in a transactional context. This chapter builds on the functional analysis in chapter 2 and considers the legal role played by transaction identity, as a prelude to examining the inherent vulnerabilities of the scheme (chapter 4), the individual rights arising as a consequence of the emergent concept of identity (chapter 5), and the misuse of an individual's transaction identity information by another person (chapter 6).

This chapter focuses on the functions of transaction identity at the time of a transaction.