How do you prove who you really are?

JBR said:
I've heard, and it could be wrong, that in the U.S. a lot of people have been fingerprinted at certain points in their lives... and not just if & when arrested. Is that so?
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Yes. There are jobs that require it. When i joined VISTA in 1965 i had have criminal background check and be fingerprinted because it was technically a government job. (Also would have been bad 'optics' if it was learned people with criminal records were part of it.)
 

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Since all documents to prove identity (Including fingerprinting) are based on other documents, the only way I know to prove identity is if a baby is fingerprinted at birth, since it won't change throughout life, unless there is damage to the skin. Many hospitals do a footprint because it's easier to get, since babies are often too fidgety with their hands.

However, those types of birth certificates are souvenir certificates, and that info never gets onto the one kept at any vital records office. Other than that, it is just info that links you to the piece of paper.
 
JBR said:
I've heard, and it could be wrong, that in the U.S. a lot of people have been fingerprinted at certain points in their lives... and not just if & when arrested. Is that so?
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I was fingerprinted to get my clearance to enter the DOJ, the USSC, the Pentagon and other Government offices. To get the clearances I had, I also had to go through background clearances and about 8 years ago, we had to submit our DNA that was put through CODIS as part of the vetting process.

Our fingerprints have been stored on AFIS as well.
 

Born_To_Lose said:
I was fingerprinted to get my clearance to enter the DOJ, the USSC, the Pentagon and other Government offices. To get the clearances I had, I also had to go through background clearances and about 8 years ago, we had to submit our DNA that was put through CODIS as part of the vetting process.

Our fingerprints have been stored on AFIS as well.
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Seems like that would work if your DNA was taken at birth, or if they had the DNA from your parents, but it just wasn't done back then.
 
JBR said:
I've heard, and it could be wrong, that in the U.S. a lot of people have been fingerprinted at certain points in their lives... and not just if & when arrested. Is that so?
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I have and not for bad things. I was fingerprinted when inducted into the military, for applications with various states for the company that I worked for to legally sell medical products, and again when I applied with the VA to be volunteer in a VA medical facility. Not only that my social security number was my service number and stamped on my dog tags. I'm sure my identity is compromised in more places that I don't even know or can think of.
 
jimintoronto said:
Are you saying that in the UK voters do NOT have to prove they are CITIZENS of the UK ? Surely a "bus pass " is NOT a proof of citizenship ? Here in Canada in order to vote, you MAY be asked to prove that you are a Canadian citizen, by producing one of 3 forms of identification, a Canadian passport, OR a Canadian Citizenship Card , OR a certified Canadian birth certificate, supported by a photo ID card such as a Driver's License with your name date of birth and home address on it.

Canada maintains a national Voter's List, as do each of the Provinces and Territories. If you move, the next time you file your annual income tax return, with a new home address, that change of address is sent to Elections Canada to update their list of voters.
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Cards are posted out from the electoral roll (voters roll) to those entitled to vote a few weeks prior to the election. The photo ID is purely to confirm facial identity.....prior to that we did not require to take anything with us.


UK Parliament elections​

Across the whole of the UK, to vote in an election for the UK Parliament someone must:

  • be registered to vote in the constituency
  • be of voting age – 18 years old on polling day
  • be either a British citizen, a qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland
  • and not be subject to any ‘legal incapacity’ to vote – prisoners serving a sentence for a conviction cannot vote in UK parliamentary elections and neither can peers in the House of Lords.
The eligibility of Irish and Commonwealth citizens to vote in UK elections comes from the historic links between the UK and Ireland and between the UK and countries of the former British Empire.
 
@dilettante
Here's what I get from your dream, which I only skimmed, which is how I read these days:
I believe you are being called, singled out, to do something, something you know you need to do. Think about it. Is there something you feel you really need to do, that can only really be done by you? Not medical, something else.

eta, been thinking about you
Something you are unsure of doing, something you have doubts about, which is why you haven't done it already.
 
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Identity proof is built on previous identity proof, the first being a birth certificate, which was all I needed to get a SS# for my first job at age 16. Then I used that and my birth cert for a driver's license. Used those for my passport.

These days, parents need to file for SS# for their infants. Picture IDs start from earliest school days forward. My kids' first passports were issued when they were under ten years old.
 
StarSong said:
Identity proof is built on previous identity proof, the first being a birth certificate, which was all I needed to get a SS# for my first job at age 16. Then I used that and my birth cert for a driver's license. Used those for my passport.

These days, parents need to file for SS# for their infants. Picture IDs start from earliest school days forward. My kids' first passports were issued when they were under ten years old.
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I get your point, but pretty sure I wouldn't use that description.
 
I know of identical twins that sort of exchanged ID's. After one was killed in an auto accident, the surviving twin started using his late brother's driving license upon receiving his third DUI conviction revoking his license for three years.
 
I've always used my birth certificate. I have the one provided to my family when I was borne. It is actually white print on a black background, like a photo negative. Along with it is a paper certificate with my footprints stamped on it. I guess they could check my foot prints, although I have never heard of that as a means of identification. Everything I actually have stems from the birth certificate such as; passport, drivers license, military records, and social security card.
 
This is an interesting question. So much of what used to be solid identification (birth certificates, etc.) can now be easily counterfeited by anyone with even rudimentary computer skills. There's a scam whereby people create counterfeit documents, take over ownership of your home, and then sell it.
I recently renewed my driver's license, and I had to provide two methods of ID. One was my existing driver's license, and for the second, there was a list to choose from. The list included a passport, a utility bill with my name on it, and a few others. The clerk wasn't interested in my passport; she went to the county database and looked up our address and property tax records.
 
bobcat said:
You can get a document that says who you are, and get a driver's license with your photo on it that says who you are, and even get other documents that use those documents (Like getting a passport), but couldn't it all be faked or made up.
Your birth certificate doesn't have your picture on it, and even if it did, it would look like a baby.
What makes our ID foolproof?
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I've had to verify my ID online by taking a selfie of me holding my passport or driver's license and holding a sign with a code the company sent me for verification purposes.
 
I have had to do similar things, but when I think about it the document I relied on to get a passport, my birth certificate, is just something we chose to rely on. Example, a twenty dollar bill really doesn't have that much value, but as a society we choose to accept it as such in doing business.
 
TennVet said:
I have had to do similar things, but when I think about it the document I relied on to get a passport, my birth certificate, is just something we chose to rely on. Example, a twenty dollar bill really doesn't have that much value, but as a society we choose to accept it as such in doing business.
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Perhaps an effect of going away from the gold standard. I even remember when had bills known as silver certificates.
 
outdoor guitar singer said:
Simple just DIE, they have no problem then.. it's when were alive they fail to ID us!
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Well, some 6000 soldiers who died in WWII have never been identified, as well as many others.
Even if they could finally accomplish it with DNA matching, it would only be as reliable as matching the final sample to a sample gathered from an earlier date, which still falls short.

When I was in the service, we always wore our dog tags for ID, but anybody could swap them out. But I think they just figured it would save time, if that hadn't happened, which was the vast majority of the time. Most soldiers would want to be correctly identified. I imagine the practice was instituted because without it, many couldn't be identified. War is brutal.
 
Pepper said:
@dilettante
Here's what I get from your dream, which I only skimmed, which is how I read these days:
I believe you are being called, singled out, to do something, something you know you need to do. Think about it. Is there something you feel you really need to do, that can only really be done by you? Not medical, something else.

eta, been thinking about you
Something you are unsure of doing, something you have doubts about, which is why you haven't done it already.
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Interesting.

I'll have to give this some thought. Nothing is immediately brought to mind.
 
MarkinPhx said:
When I was going through my rebellious teen I actually went to the Public Library and used the microfiche machine to look up my birth announcement in the local paper. I had seen my birth certificate but I was surly enough to think that I was adopted . I mean how could I have such crazy parents ? :ROFLMAO: . Anyway, I found the announcement so that along with my birth certificate was enough to convince me that I wasn't adopted.

How do I know I didn't get switched up at birth ? I don't for sure but just like everyone else I have to trust that the hospital I was born at kept track of things to make sure it didn't happen.
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I looked too much like my mom to ever think I was switched
or adopted :)
 
At some point in our childhood we wonder if we were adopted. This usually occurs when a loving parent protects us from one of our childish wants or desires. Since I see my identity ultimately relying on one piece of paper, my birth certificate, maybe I really am not who I think I am, and don't know who I am because I can't prove either one. Just saying.
 

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