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Cloning identities? Say what?!

Surprising Europe
26 Mar 2010
UNITED KINGDOM

Without the right documents it is difficult to get an official job, but nothing is impossible. Some undocumented immigrants choose to work in the ‘hidden economy’, but the downside to working illegally is that you have no rights, and exploitation is just around corner. Others borrow a legal friend’s documents and pretend to be that person in order to get a job: a practice known as ‘cloning’ identities.

Here’s how it works: in order to get a job as someone else, you need to find a legal citizen, who looks like you and who is willing to lend his or her papers. Once you have borrowed the passport or ID card, you can start applying for a job. The future employer might check up on the papers, but if you look  similar enough to your legal friend, nothing should stand in the way of getting the job. Unless of course, the interview itself is a disaster…

Double life
Naturally, cloning has its pros and cons: It seems an easy way of getting a legal job, but you have  to be willing to lead a double life. Pretending to be someone else can be hard: as a clone, you must remember the details of the person you are cloning: at least the social security number, date of birth and  address. On top of that, getting your hard earned money can be tricky: as you’ll depend on the bank account of your legal alter ego, you’ll also depend on his or her goodwill to get your salary.

Illegal
Most of all, identity cloning is illegal, and even if you have a good memory, iron nerves and fabulous acting skills, the authorities might find out, and you'll run the risk of getting arrested and maybe even deported.

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