A man desperate to raise money for an operation his father needs could be exposing himself to prosecution for putting his identity up for sale. Rhianne Pope reports that Preston Likely, a print worker from Littlemore, may find that he’s gone from the financial frying pan into the fire:
He said: “I have decided to sell my entire identity – my passport number, my credit card number, share dealing numbers, birth certificate – anything with personal information and numbers on.
“I needed to raise money for my dad’s operation and I’ve got mortgage payments and bills coming out – it’s just money I don’t have any more.
“I was cutting up my credit cards in the bin one day and got the idea to do this.”
Since the notices were first placed in newsagents last Wednesday, the married father-of-one has had offers ranging from £10 to £1,000.
But a police spokesman was quoted as saying, “Anyone selling their personal documents or identification numbers must be aware that they may be used for fraudulent purposes.
“This could be considered an attempted fraud in that the seller is willing for others to use his name and credit cards for a dishonest purpose whilst pretending to be him, for a fee.
“The information about this incident has been passed to our Police Enquiry Centre to investigate further to ascertain whether any offences have been committed.”
A Identity and Passport Service spokesman said: “Any action which could assist fraudulent activity is a serious offence and may lead to prosecution.”
Read more in the Oxford Times. Even if Mr. Likely doesn’t wind up in legal trouble, I think he’ll be disappointed to find out how little an identity is worth on the market these days.