Legal Consequences and Life After Fraud

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It's a single company that sells a suite of enterprise apps that handles everything from accounting to inventory to sales Odu is all connected on a single platform in a simple and affordable way You can save money without missing out on the features you need Check out Odu at odoo. com ODOO If you run a business, consider this. seventy seven percent of Americans say our nation's two hundred fiftieth birthday is an appropriate time to celebrate. That gives you the green light to advertise. Let iHart help you advertise around America two hundred fifty. Get started today at iheartadvertising. com Cothes store on Oxford Street One of London's busiest shopping districts in December The busiest time of the year. It's two thousand seven A balding man in his late fifties approaches a store assistant Excuse me, I can't find my wife or the dogs. The rock violot. The man isn't making much sense. He claims to have no idea where he is or how he got there Why are there Christmas lights Isn't it June? No, it's December But the man is sum tanned. Clearly, he hasn't been in Britain all winter. Equally clearly, there's something not quite right with him And whatever the problem is, the store don't want it to be their problem. A security guard escorts him to the nearest police station The man tells the duty sergeant, I think I'm a missing person Why do you think you're a missing person Well If I knew that, I don't think I'd be here now, would I The man has no ID on him But he says he thinks his name might be John on Darwin Five years earlier in two thousand two A middle aged man called John Darwin indndeed went missing In a canoe Kidd paddled out to sea one morning from the beach in the town in the northeast of England where he lived with his wife, Anne. And, said Anne He never came back A battered canoe later washed up on a beach. But no body was ever found At the time, it raised some eyebrows The weather had been calm, the sea as smooth as a mill pond Not the kind of conditions in which I'd expect a canoeist to get into difficulties Also John Darwin, it turned out, was a man with many debts. But once the requisite time had passed, an inquest judged that the missing man must be presumed dead Anne claimed on John's life insurance and moved abroad to start a new life in Animal country with a reputation for sunshine and not asking too many questions about where your money comes from And now Here's a sn tanned John Darwin in a London police station saying he's got amnesia. He can't remember anything of the last five years, nothing at all It's nonsense, isn't it? It must be nonsense. How to prove it. Police have no grounds to detain John Darwin, so they call his adult sons to are stunned For five years, they've assumed their dad was dead. And now Britain's newspapers leap on the story deliciously intriguing story it is Where was I for five years? Amazing mystery of missing canoeist What's his game He must be lying The year, remember, is two thousand seven Innet is less pervasive than today A young mum Reading the news and feeling curious does something very simple somethingomething that hadn't occurred to the police or to journalists She visits Google She clicks the images tab Three words John and Pam She presses sir I'm Tim Harford and you're listening. Portutionary Tailes. John Darwin worked as a teacher then retrained as a prison officer. and looked after their two sons until they went to school gotot a job as a receptionist at a doctor's surgery Ordinary jobs that bought an ordinary house in an ordinary village It wasn't enough for John be a millionaire by the time I'm fifty. John borrowed money to buy rundown houses to rent out. Tenants were hard to find let alone tenants who paid rent on time The houses needed constant repairs, which John lacked the skills to make struggled to make their loan repayments houses or on John's luxury range Rover with a personalized license plate They ran up debt on credit cards. John decided the solution to their problems was to borrow more money to buy more houses two houses, specifically next door to each other. four story nineteenth century townhouses overlooking the beach and the faded seaside resort of Seden Cw The architecture was grand pointed gables and ornate balustrades One of the houses had been converted into thirteen bedsits tiny dingy studio apartments renting out to low income tenants John and Anne would live in the other house Oddly, it had a secret passageway into one of the bedsits next door hole in the wall hidden in a wardrobe Entrance to Narnia John had worked out all the sums on a spreadsheet. The rent from the bedsits would surely cover all their debts Anne was not convinced John told her worrying It'll be fine It was not fine. The house was far bigger than they needed Their two sons had now grown up and moved south near London Heating was expensive The house had high ceilings No insulation drafty, single glazed windows They couldn't find tenants for all of the bedsits and didn't get on with the tenants they did have Mostly unemployed single men They were glad they owned two Rck olers. By the time John Darwin turned fifty Not only was he not a millionaire His financial situation had become desperate Penalty charges for late repayments were piling up The Darwins faced bankruptcy John dreaded the stigma of being declared a failure but they'd run out of other options O had they I think I should crash the Rangerover on the way home from work. Claim the insurance money John thought some more I might actually kill myself doing it don't want to do that What if he his own death instead You could claim the life insurance money and was not immediately sold on this plan. She later told the journalist, David Lee For God's sake, John You'll be found out and locked up We both will Nevertheless She agreed to go along with it One morning in two thousand two, John lugs his bright red canoe over the road from his house to the beach He makes sure there are people around to see him. He paddles out to sea, then down the coast to another deserted beach, where Anne meets him with her car He fills the canoe with rocks and shoves it into the water, and drives him to a railway station where he takes a train into the countryside John planned to lie low for a while by camping, but for some reason, he'd taken his sleeping bag with him in the canoe instead of leaving it in Anne's car It's now sopping wet. He checks into a bed and breakfast under a false name. Anne goes home and calls the emergency services This isn't like John at all He's a very experienced canoeist, but I'm starting to worry something dreadful might have happened ast Guard agency leaps into action. Dozens of volunteers from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, a charity, drop what they're doing and take to the sea to search for the missing canoist. The search goes on all through the night and the next day, six boats, a plane Helicopter Anne watches from the window of her home John watches on the television news in his bed and breakfast Anne calls her two sons to break the news that their father is missing at sea One son is on holiday in Canada, where he'd been planning to propose to his girlfriend cut short their trip and rushed to Seden Caroo where they find and surrounded by people Family, friends work, colleagues offering support. and the police who seem to suspect that all may not be as it seems They're methodically searching the house. and asking an question after question I've told you everything I know After a week Anne's phone rings everyone gone home yet Are you mad Of course they haven't gone home yet John has bought a new sleeping bag camping is cheaper than the bed and breakfast. Every night, his air mattress slowly deflatates Then he wakes uncomfortably on the ground. He doesn't have the cash to buy a new one And obviously can't use a card pests and Have their sons still not left to come back. You don't know what it's like for me It's not exactly easy for me either After three weeks The sons go home The coast is clear. John Darwin returns to Sedon Carew Cunningly disguised He's grown a beard He makes use of that odd secret passageway. When visitors call on Anne John darts through the wardrobe Hides out in the bedsit But soon he starts to take a chance on going out and about The police have seized his computer So he visits the library to get online He starts doing repairs on his rental properties introducing himself as Tom the Handyman skills are as limited as ever One tenant later recalls how Tom tried to fix her toilet by tying a plastic bag to the ballcock. incredibly He's recognized. only once The tenant sees through the beard and says Aren't you supposed to be dead John isn't quick at thinking on his feet Tell anyone about this He doesn't The man later shrugs that he thought it was none of his business John looks through newspaper archives from the year he was born deeath notices A baby called John Jones died in infancy If he'd lived Itd been about Darwin's age Another John It's convenient. Jones is a common surname Darwin goes to the local reggistry office and applies for a copy of John Jones's birth certificate He sends it off to the passport office. photograph of himself It can't be this easy to get a passport in a fake name Can it Cautionary tales will be back afterfter the break If you've ever marketed a product or business, you know how much attention it takes to break through But our nation's two hundred fiftieth is a rare moment that cuts through the noise. And with seventy seven percent of Americans saying it's an appropriate time to celebrate, your business has a green light to show up for our nation's big birthday party. Don't miss your chance to do it with IiHart and reach local listeners when they're ready to take action. Call eight hundred fourty four eight hundred for four IiHart today to get started. That's eight hundred fourty four eight hundred fourty four IHart When it comes to looking your best, Beachbum tanning does it better. Beachbum delivers advanced sun and spray tanning, luxury skincare, and an elevated salon experience designed around you. It's why so many guests trust Beach Bum for flawless color and real confidence. And now Beachbum is expanding wellness services to many locations, with red light therapy and infrared sauna, with more on the way. recharge your body, refresh your skin reset your day, Beachbum isn't just hanning. It's full spectrum wellness. Visit beachbum. com to find a location near you. Ryan Reynolds here from Iobile I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for fifteen dollars a month plan that I've been enjoying It's not just for celebrities. so do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to MintMobile today. told it's super easy to do at mintMobile. com slash switch. Up frront payment of forty five dollars for three month plan, equivalent to fifteen dollars per month required. intntro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. taxes and fees extra. Feful terms at mintMobile. com. John Darwin was hardly a criminal mastermind How did he know how to get a passport with a fake identity He learned it from a book. Novel The Day of the Jackle was published in the nineteen seventies The central character a shadowy assassin apppplies for a copy of a dead baby's birth certificate and uses it to get a passport The novelist learned of this trick from contacts in the criminal underworld really be that. Easy. He tried it out for himself before writing about it It works When the Day of the Jackal became a best seller, The author assumed that the government would quickly find a way to close the loophole No Thirty years later still were The government's problem was making links between data held in different places. There was a paper based register of births and a paper based register of deaths But these records weren't connected passport office a birth certificate for a John Jones And they had no easy way to verify whether or not he'd died already. The world is very different now, of course, records are computerized and searchable Information from one source can easily link to another Back in the early two thousands, that shift to the modern era was taking shape slowly Piecemeal The day of the Jackal trick wouldn't work for much longer John Jones got his passport Just in time in two thousand three. on the first anniversary of John Darwin's disappearance His two sons visited their mother for a somber act of remembrance From the end of Saton Coo here They threw commemorative wreaths into the sea John window Coroner held an inquest into John's disappearance The sons visited again much to John's annoyance Whenever they came to support their mother He had to vanish through the wardrobe The inquest heard the police had found no evidence that Darwin staged his disappearance. death certificate was issued which gave the cause of death as probably encountered difficulties as a result of which he died The sons went home Finally allowing John to emerge through the secret doorway Congratulations. You're dead Armed with a death certificate and set about claiming John's various life insurance policies and pensions John celebrated by playing Abba Payouts came to maybe three quarters of a million dollars in today's terms Later, they'd net about the same again from selling properties that would otherwise have been foreclosed on I'm a genius. the police had given back John's computer He spent hours playing online games such as Ascheron's Call Fantasy role playing adventure, which his two sons also enjoyed You'll never guess who I've been playing with today. Boys Don't worry. They have no idea, it's me in another online game. John befriended a woman who told him she was lonely Bored. He told her his wife was dead And he had no children She sent him topless photos He sent her thousand dollars to invest in a business opportunity. He sheepishly confessed to Anne when he realized that the investment. one and brushed it off There was plenty more money after all They traveled to Cyprus with the John Jones passp Perhaps that would be a good place to start a new life in the sun Bureaucracy seemed stifling They agreed to buy a catamaran. thinking they could sail around the world either of them knew how to sail. That fell through when John argued with the seller One thing was clear couldn't stay in Sat and Caru and risk someone else recognizing bearded Tom the Handyman Bow Animal John began to post in forums for expats He liked what he was told going to be perfect for us. a wonderful climate, beautiful countryside, absolutely perfect in every respect John arranged for them to meet a real estate agent and booked flights. and still worried, every time John presented his passport Stay calm. Everything will be fine I'm trying my best. Panama was beautiful indeed They got on well with the real estate agent and his wife. At one point, the wife produced a digital camera, a photo of the happy clients. John and Anne stood next to the agent and beamed The agent's wife gave the photo a file name that included John and Anne and uploaded it to the agency website. The Darwins bought an apartment in Panama City Anne return to Sedon Cw to sell the last of their property two big old houses bought a plot of land in Panama Nearly five hundred acres of unspoiled jungle next to Lake Gartoon. a huge artificial reservoir created as part of the Panama Canal The plot had no electricity or running water. But they plan to build a luxury villa and open an eco tourism resort didnid't speak Spanish. they'd ruined themselves trying to run a much simpler property rental business back home, John couldn't even fix a toilet Sure, build a villa and run an eco tourism resort. Why not and later reflected The idea was I have to admit In S in. they bought a machete But before they could get to work on their jungle, they had a problem to solve comeome to Panama on tourist visas To live there long term, they'd need a different kind of visa, and to get it, they had to present a letter from their local police force back home testing to their good character. Easy for Anne who led an apparently blameless life as a doctor's receptionist Tricky for John Jones two didn't exist What to do It might have been wise to grapple with this problem before they bought an apartment in Panama City and five hundred acres of jungle, but they were where they were John came up with a plan He'd fly back to Britain abbandon the John Jones identity reestablish himself as John Darwin Claim he had amnesia If no one could prove where he'd been for the last five years, there'd be no reason for the police not to give him the letter he needed It's perfectly feasible that I could have banged my head and lost my memory It does happen sometimes I'd say I can't remember how I got to wherever I am or where I've been How do you account for the Sntan? ' been on holiday. This is crazy No one will believe you. You think of something better then and could not think of anything better. John reassured her that thousands of people go missing every year and then turn up again. Nobody will be that bothered about me Don't worry It'll be fine Three days after John flew back to London. buzzer rang at the apartment in Panama City and ignored it Then came a knocking on the door. She ignored that too A voice with an English accent said, Mrs. Nelman I need to speak to you What do you want The man explained he was a journalist. David Lee. What was her reaction to the news that her husband wasn't dead after all I'm finding it pretty hard to take in. and agreed to give David Lee an interview She had no idea where John had been for the last five years. I'm as amazed as anyone There are so many unanswered questions David Lee wrote up his story. emailed it to his editors with a covering note. She's obviously lying through her teeth. But how to prove it Later that evening David Lee and Anne are having dinner when Lee's phone rings. It's an editor at his paper It's nearly midnight in the UK, but they're hurriedly rewriting the front page after a tip off from a reader A young woman. late with her baby, who says she's a bit of a geek. Go to Google Click on images and type in John and Turn him on Lee is astonished by what pops up He says to Anne I've got something to show you And I'm afraid it's not going to be very easy for you. Portionary tales will be back in a moment If you've ever marketed a product or business, you know how much attention it takes to break through. But our nation's two hundred fiftieth is a rare moment that cuts through the noise. And with seventy seven percent of Americans saying it's an appropriate time to celebrate, your business has a green light to show up for our nation's big birthday party. Don't miss your chance to do it with IHart and reach local listeners when they're ready to take action Call eight four four eight four four iHard today to get started. That's eight four four eight four four iHart When it comes to looking your best, Beachbum tanning does it better. Beachbum delivers advanced sun and spray tanning, luxury skincare, and an elevated salon experience designed around you. It's why so many guests trust Beachbum for flawless color and real confidence. And now Beachbum is expanding wellness services to many locations, with red light therapy and infrared sauna, with more on the way. recharge your body, refresh your skin, reset your day. Beachbum isn't just tanning. It's full spectrum wellness. Visit beachbum dot com to find a location near you ppe A dead water heater. The AAC calling it quits. Who do you call? Home Serve is an easy way to handle unexpected home repairs, with plans covering stuff basic homeowner's insurance usually won't. Instead of scrambling for a contractor, you make one call to get the repair process started. Join the millions of customers who trust HomeServe Right now, go to homeserve. com slash podcast for fifty percent less your first year. That's homeomeserve d. com slash podcast. saavings compa to renewal price void in Florida In the mid to late two thousands, with the rise of social media Technology researchers such as Dana Boyd began to observe an interesting new phenomenon It became known as Context collapse Classic example from the time. Your friend posts on Facebook a photo of you drunk at a party emoyers on Facebook So's your grand Just a few years earlier You wouldn't have been able to imagine how a photo taken at a drunken party might plausibly be seen by your employer or your ground. It was easy to keep a separation between these different contexts in your life There's now a body of research on how we've adapted to context collapse We self censor posting only bland content in feeds that are relatively public We share sensitive content in spaces such as group chats, which are easier to curate John and Anne Darwin couldn't imagine How a photo taken in Panama might plausibly be seen by the police in Northeast England Today, it's hard to imagine how such a photo could ever stay hidden. two thousand seven was right on the cusp of that change in eras The image was findable on Google, but it hadn't occurred to the police to search or to the nation's top journalists Cross the mind only K young mum. in Panama And Arwin looks at the image on David Lee's laptop Hself And John beaming at the camera in the office of their real estate agent Panama City. She's just been telling the journalist how she's as amazed as anyone to learn that John Darwin is still alive She pauses. to consider the implications of that photo My sons are never going to forgive me. The police in Northeast England had always suspected that John Darwin might have staged his disappearance But they hadn't found any evidence at the time When Darwin reappears in London claims amnesia. They dust off the file He must be lying. How to prove it? They appealed the public for any information about where the missing canoeist had been A woman calls in A Young mum If you go to Google images The Chief investigating Oicer Looks at the search results bursts out laughing Bastards late in the evening That photo iss bound to be on the front page of tomorrow's papers. They'd better arrest, John Darwin Before he can do another runner John has been staying at his son's house, feeling alarmed at the level of media interest. He'd assured Anne that nobody would be bothered People go missing all the time Instead He's gone viral Kanuma Journalists have tracked down his ninety year old father. helpelfully explained how John was always obsessed with money eighty year old aunt chimes in I'm a cynic. I don't believe he ever got his feet wet. his son's house, John has been determinedly tents of Amnesia Oh what he guesses amnesia might look like. When his daughter in law serves dinner, He pretends not to know what it is. I've never had. . T to midnight Police knock on the door and arrest John Darwin for suspected fraud The next morning, a newspaper front page splashes the photo of John on and the real estate agent Under the headline Cans this in Panama The two Darwin sons put out a statement to the press We are angry and confused We will be helping the police in any way we can in Panama. journalist David Lee reads their statement to Anne She bursts into tears What have I Dn What sort of mother am I David Lee thinks to himself not a very good one As the details of the case come out Jokes keep coming A photo of the Narnia like secret passageway in John and Anne's old house is published with the headline The liar, the witch, and the wardrobe When John's lawyer appeals for him to be allowed some time with Anne, It's reported with How about a canoodle? A local prankster puts up an official looking sign on the road into Seden Cw Welcome to Saton Canoe. Twin with Panama the nation's parent tirelessly point out that John's canoe was actually a kayak difference, you know It's a losing battle There are so many more jokes you can make with cananoo But when details emerge of how John got his fake passport using a trick from a famous novel chance for the headline writers to please the pedants The dayay of the Kayacle. The hilarity There's human hurt The two Darwin' sons give a raw interview about their parents. Tampled over our lives for the sake of money bad as each other Their father had listened through the wall as they grieved for it utterly Cruel, selfish and evil Their mother had become such an accomplished liar, she deserved an Oscar She never tripped up Then there were the siblings of John Jones The little baby whose identity John Darwin had stolen My parents always used to speak about John said a sister The family's disgusted How low can you get Remember why it was possible for John Darwin to get that fake passport the register of births. talk to the Register of Deaths But that was about to change Information everywhere was getting digitized, searchable. Eier to cross reference from one place to another In twenty ten philosopher Helen Nissenbau. published a book privacy in context that explored the implications of that trend When we care about privacy, she says What we care about is contextual integrity rules and norms about how information flows from one context to another. We might not want our medical information to come up in an employment check. or our bank to know our browser history. or marketers to see our location data the smarter technology becomes the more effort it takes to stay in control of who can find out what The idea is a cousin of context collapse How social media makes us work harder to separate our audiences once again The Darwins stand on the cusp of a change in eras. Nowadays, you couldn't get a fake identity with a dead child's birth certificate. That's a good thing. But it's not only life insurance fraudsters who might want to leave parts of their identity behind people who said stupid things when they were young or sought of fresh start in a new city after a messy breakup The easier it gets for others to join the dots about our lives challenging it is to reinvent ourselves