When it comes to inventing or borrowing an identity, I usually think of Frank Abagnale, the guy whose life inspired Catch Me If You Can. But for this article, I decided to dig a little deeper. And I'm glad I did. There have been plenty of fraudsters who have pulled off remarkable stunts and lived to tell the tale.

Take Perkin Warbeck for example. Chances are, you've never even heard of him. But Warbeck was the perpetrator of one of the most audacious cases of identity theft in history. 

Nowadays, enterprises face real challenges, as sophisticated con men utilize stolen identities to access secure accounts or defraud victims of their finances. But Warbeck was way more ambitious. He was aiming at the ultimate target — the British throne.

In the late 15th century, supporters of the deposed Richard III of York persuaded a naive young Warbeck to assume a new identity. The Yorkist loyalists transformed him to become Richard, Duke of York, and true heir apparent to the throne. Beneath this guise, Warbeck began gathering forces to take the throne from the Tudor King Henry VII.

The ruse was eventually doomed and Warbeck ended up in captivity, but not before his deceit had raised an army of 6,000 men and gathered the support of many European royals of the era. 

Some see Warbeck as a stooge of more nefarious minds, however, his story proves that given the right circumstances, identity fraud can get you a long way.

As for Perkin Warbeck, he was hanged in 1499 after a failed attempt to escape. 

Martin Guerre is also worthy of a mention. He was born a French peasant, married Bertrande, the daughter of a well-to-do family, and after eight years together they had a child. At some point during their marriage, Martin was accused of stealing grain from his father and fled town and his family in 1548, never to be seen again.

That is, until a man named Arnaud du Tilh walked into town and up to Bertrande, claiming to be her husband and father of their child.

Bertrande was super happy and convinced that her husband had returned. Arnaud had such a striking resemblance to the real Martin Guerre; even his four sisters believed he was truly home.

“Martin Guerre”, aka Arnaud du Tilh, lived three years with Bertrande and her son, even having a child together. The townspeople, however, remained suspicious. Eventually, they had raised so much fuss, there was a trial against the imposter after “Martin Guerre” tried to claim an inheritance from his newly deceased father.

The sentence was passed down, but Arnaud du Tilh appealed the verdict and almost convinced the court of his innocence. However, at the very last moment, the real Martin Guerre emerged with a wooden leg and forgotten knowledge of the past.

In the end, Bertrande and Martin’s four sisters attested that it was truly him, and Arnaud du Tilh was sentenced to death by hanging for adultery and fraud in 1560.

The middle ages were wild!