Latest / Stuff You Should Know / How Can I Erase My Identity and Start Over?

Transcript

How Can I Erase My Identity and Start Over? · Stuff You Should Know

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve Camray.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: It's ready. Are you welcome to stuff you should know
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: from house Stuff Works dot Com. Hey, and welcome to
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: the podcast. Josh Clark, Chuck Bryant. We're here for you.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: How you doing, Chuck? I'm doing well, Josh. I'm doing
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: pretty good. To Chuck, I drank a vault on an
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: empty stomach. I'm about that. You cover off this microphone.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: I'm ready to go. You got another one lined up?
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: I do? I do? This is my second one, right,
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: I don't even know what that is. I'm about to
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: pass out, actually, but I'll try to make it through. Yeah,
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: please don't. I can't carry this. So I've got a
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: great news item for you. Ready, Okay. So it turns
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: out the sovereign Nation of New Zealand actually enforces its
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: law that you can't give a child the name over
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: a hundred characters long, and you can't give a child
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: a name that could prove socially handicapping. You want to
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: you want to hear an example? Charles Manson, No, no, no,
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: And arguably I like it. I think it's very lilting
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: and sweet, but it's arguably worse than Charles Mason. There's
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: an a year old girl who was in the midst
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: of a custody battle with her parents, and the judge
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: found out what the girl's name was and how much
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: she hated it, and actually made her a temporary ward
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: of the Corps so she could legally change her name herself.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: Tallula does the hula from Hawaii? I'm not kidding. Is
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: that two names? One name? No, that's her first name,
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: you know, it's it's separate words. Um, and I think
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: they actually even spelled it correctly, like the is not capitalized,
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: that kind of things. But I was reading this BBC
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: article on it, and um. They brought up some other
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: examples of names in New Zealand that some made it
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: through and some didn't. There are a couple bizarre ones
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: that made it through, like number sixteen bus Shelter bus shelter, Yes, um.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: And another one that made it through is Midnight Chardonnay,
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: which I think Q Grant probably has designs on that
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: poor child. Yeah, I think it's no secret how that
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: child was conceived exactly. But are a few more, um
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: that didn't make it through, like Yeah, Detroit, sex fruit
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: and um the twins, Fish and Chips. Uh, the the
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: the the federal government or maybe even local government moved
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: to block those names. Really, but um, I'm curious though.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: It is Charles W. Bryan. Is that the name your
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: parents gave you? Did you change it? No, Charles Wayne.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: I was named after John Wayne, which is a true story,
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: Is that right? Yeah? I didn't know what the W
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: stands for. Yeah, I'm Wayne, now I do. Well, if
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: you have your original name, you know anything about this
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: kind of thing? Is this in your field of expertise? Perchance? Uh?
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: You know, my wife actually changed the spelling of her
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: first name, although not legally, but uh, well, she spells it,
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: you know, when she fills out her driver's license records
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: and on her bank account, it's all spelled the Emily
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: with an i e and not Emily with a y.
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: But she never legally got it changed. But it just
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: kind of goes to show how you can change these
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: official documents without really having the court say you can, yeah,
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: just by saying precedent right exactly. But there are legal
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: routes to do this kind of thing, right right, And
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: I think I know what you're getting to, yes, Chuck,
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: How could one erase their identity and start over. That's
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: a great question. Um. Unfortunately, I hate to spoil this
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: for the listeners, but there's really no way that you
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: can completely erase your identity, uh in this day and age, um,
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: at least in the United States without the government doing
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: it for you. Yeah. Technology has made it a lot
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: more difficult to commit just about any kind of crime. Huh. Yeah.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: In the old days you could do there was one
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: thing called a paper trip, which is you could assume
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: the identity of like a dead infant and um, get
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: their records and claim their identity as your own. Yeah.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: But yeah, you can't do that anymore though, because you
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: know computer records nowadays and everything it's it makes it
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: really difficult to completely erase your identity. So I guess
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: even if you do change your identity, there's still records
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: of your former identity linking the two together exactly. So
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: if you're on the run from somebody like you can
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: change your name uh pretty easily if you're if you
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: have special circumstances, you can change your Social Security number,
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: but you have to prove to the government that someone's
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: either been misusing yours and another reason you can change
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: your social uh is, if you're a victim of domestic
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: violence and you really need to, you know, go underground
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: where your ex husband or ex wife. I guess if
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: you know your victim of spousal abuse as a husband,
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: which is actually um not paid nearly enough attention to
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: husband abuse. I'm not kidding. It actually is a real problem.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: Men don't feel uh the least bit confident in admitting
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: that they are abused by their wives. They're not gonna
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: tell you. It's out there, you know. Sure, well that's
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: a podcast for another day. Sure, well, let's do it.
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: We'll put it on a calendar. Agreed. So, uh, Like
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: I said, you can change your social for several reasons.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: It needs to be approved. You can change your name.
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: It depends what state you live in, uh, for the
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: uh the process you go through, but it generally costs,
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: you know, fifty bucks or under. And a judge actually rules.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: I thought that was interesting whether or not you can
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: change your name. Well, that's only if there's objections. Right, Well,
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: they make a ruling regardless and it's always yes unless
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: there's an objection. Okay, So you basically to change your name,
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: you have to advertise it in the in the legal
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: organ that usually the county newspaper. And this is for
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: the great state of Georgia that we leven. Ok Um,
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: So it does that for several weeks. And you know
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: if if somebody notices and they have an objection, they
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: can object. And I actually um know of an instance
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: where that happened. You remember Jeff Killooley, Oh who doesn't. Yeah,
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: so apparently kneecapping America's sweetheart, um is, he can get
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: you some really bad press in this country, right because
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: here he famously uh hit Nancy Kerrigan, ice skater, Nancy
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: Carrigan and the knees with a crow bar. Yeah on
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: on behalf he said, he claimed of his wife Tanya Harding,
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: who was in competition for Karagan for you know, America's sweetheart,
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: that kind of thing. Um. So after the whole thing
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: dies down. Um, A couple of years after Galilee petitions
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: to have his name changed to Jeff Stone. There were
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: plenty of Jeff Stones that for that lodged formal objections,
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: including oddly enough, I heard the guy who played Jeff
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Stone the son on the Donna Reed television show from
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: the sixties. Isn't that weird? Yeah? So people do object,
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: but I think you have to be um a little
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: unsavory for somebody not want you to share their name.
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: And I would think Galilee would have changed his name
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: before that, just for the simple fact that his name
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: was Galule, right exactly. Yeah, that's just me. Yeah. So, um,
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: those you've you've given us a couple of good reasons.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: Can you give us any famous cases of of people
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: changing their identities? I can, Well, let's hear it. Well,
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: there's a really recent one. Radovan credits Um the Serbian
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: leader from Bosnia Herzegovina. Right. Yeah, back in the Balkan Wars,
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: there's a lot of ethnic cleansing going on. Um and
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: Ratti was one of the ones who was committing genocide
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: against the Muslims in that area. Uh So the war's end, uh,
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: the u S indictes him for crimes against humanity, he
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: drops out. Apparently he was still something of a hero
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: to the Serbian population around there. He was hiding in
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: plain sight to an extent. He actually grew a beard
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: and became a an alternative health guru and was living
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: quite publicly in Belgrade. Finally, we get a very pro
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: pro American, pro West leader uh in in that area
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: and um like the next month ravages under arrest and
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: on trial. So war crimes is a pretty good reason
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: to change your identity as well. Yeah, I think, you know,
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: when I was researching this article, I found that a
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: lot of people that enquire about this on the internet,
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: you know, you can get certain websites will say they'll
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: change your name, but it's really just a big scam.
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: They'll give you a fake idea and or reuse a
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: bunch of the same records over and over. And it's
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: really for those of you out there that look and
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: these is just a big money rip off. That's one
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: of those things where if you want it done right,
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: you have to do it yourself, I would imagine. Yeah,
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: you know, especially if you're having trouble with your identity
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: through identity theft or whatever. But I guess if your
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: identity gets so ragged out, it doesn't matter who you
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: trust it to to change it for you. But I
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: wonder if the if the percentage of people changing their
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: identity is on the rise, what with identity theft just
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: exploding all over the place. Yeah, I think, I mean,
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: that's one of the problems that the Internet is identity theft,
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: and it's also one of the problems of people not
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: being able to change their identity because of the paper
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: trail via computer, So it's sort of a double edged sword.
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: So check you want to give our listeners the number
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: they can call if they're interested in changing their Social
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: Security number. Yeah, if you're a victim of spousal abuse
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: or um. If you're you know social Security number has
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: been tampered with, can call one eight hundred seven seven
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: to twelve thirteen to inquire to the s s A
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: about you know what you can do and for all
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: the great details you can read Chuck's our coal how
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: can I erase my identity? And start over on how
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: stuff works dot com and stick around to find out
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: what article makes Chuck think of Frankenstein. Right after this,
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: we're back. Thanks for hanging around. I don't blame you.
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: What article is it, Chuck? Well, it's sort of misleading.
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: It's not Frankenstein, the doctor who created the monster, but
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: it's the awesome seventies instrumental groovy song Frankenstein. D D dude,
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: ain't d we have to pay anybody? I don't think
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: so okay to anyone? It would be Johnny Winner because
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: that's his song. And uh, you can ask me why. Yeah,
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: this is kind of you. Not only did we start,
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: you misled me to mislead the readers. And now I'm
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: just as confused as ever. Why would that possibly remind
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: me of frankenst Like, what article are you talking about? Well,
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: because Johnny Winner famously is has albinism along with his brother,
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: fellow musician Edgar Winner Afar Winner Group, they're both albinos.
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: Currently it runs in the family. So the article how
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: albinism works is that's the one said you just sit
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: there and Frankenstein plays over and over in your head.
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: Every time you're in over and over, I get the
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: ear worm. Well that's fantastic, Chuck. So you can read
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: all about albionism and all sorts of other interesting articles
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: on how stuff works dot Com. Check it out for
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: more on this and thousands of other topics. Is it
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com? Let us know what you think.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: Send an email to podcast at how stuff works dot com.
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: M brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera.
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: It's ready, are you