hello all. i'm currently working on a crime story, and i'm testing various scenarios. what would make someone steal someone else's identity? my idea is that something happened in the past (about 15 years ago) that made the would-be murderer change his identity to escape his previous life-then, in present day, someone recognizes him, threatening to bring his new (happy) life to a scandalous end. i have a few ideas,but nothing really satisfies me yet (maybe a scandal in the person's life?). any takers?
Well the person could be running from the law, they could have bad credit and need to find a new identity with better credit to get a good job or line of credit, they could be trying to go AWOL from the military...I can't give you a great answer without more info.
Revenge maybe? I mean stealing someone's identity is a pretty good way to stick it to someone you hate. (Not that I've ever done it, of course.)
thanks for the inputs, everyone! to elaborate a bit further: my first novel is finished, and it's about a murder, and five friends in nyc. basically a suspenseful, funny, dirty crime romp. but now i'm working on the next one (series, i guess) and i'm bringing back the detective from book 1. he needs something to do (and works in the homicide unit). the crime story is less central this time, and more about the evolvement of the friends and their life's. but it still needs to be interesting, with a logic explanation. so i'm working my way backwards in the murder 'by-line' that i have in mind, and was thinking about the murderer being someone committing the crime after his new (fake) life is at risk. he murders to keep his tracks covered, trying to keep his old life from coming to light. someone found out he's not who he claims to be, maybe by recognizing him some 15 years later. revenge could be a motive, a scandalous family he's embarrassed of, or maybe...?
I reckon it would have to be a really REALLY big secret he's hiding, for him to want to commit murder to keep it. Either that or he has a LOT to lose now, if his secret is uncovered. I'd say work on these angles with your character in mind, rather than just trying to think of different 'reasons' why a person would want to change identity.
The main reason identities are stolen is for cold hard cash. Mad skrilla. Same reason people go to work at mickey deez.
I feel like creating a fake identity is a much better option than stealing one. There are far too many variables which could go wrong the moment you 'become' someone else; especially so considering we live in an era of instant information and where everyone is seemingly connected. Other than for instant cash, like MLM stated, it is simply too risky to become someone else for an extended period of time. That said, the longer you walk around as another person, the harder it becomes to get caught, I'd imagine.
Is the basic question you're asking, "Why would someone want to hide their real identity?" or "Why would a person steal someone else's specific identity?" There are an endless amount of reasons someone would want to change their identity: owe someone bad some money, committed a crime, fathered a child he wants no part of, he's the son of a well-known murderer, cut corners during construction of a building that collapsed and killed people...really, you're limited by your imagination. My advice? Use the time frame and figure out something real he could have done, it adds a nice twist. For example, maybe he was DB Cooper or the "real" killers of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Or involved in the Oklahoma City bombing. Find something from 14, 15 years ago and make him part of that. If you're asking why someone would take a specific identity...that's a bit harder.
