This last year I've heard first person accounts of two alleged cases of fake native celebrities. One was a face to face meeting that set off plenty of alarm bells, the other at least involved telephone calls and didn't set off alarm bells at all until others got wind of it! I don't know much more about what happened next, but what I heard was enough to make me want to warn people so they won't be taken in. This is a warning to all ethnic groups. That I heard about native cases made me write about it and post it here, but this has nothing to do with being native per se - it's about being human, warts and all.

Imagine this situation:

You're head over heels in star in the entertainment field. You'd give everything to meet him. Then, one day you do. Maybe you get to know someone who knows him, and they offer to get you in touch with him. He calls you, and you're in heaven.

The situation from there on could develop a number of ways.

Only one hitch: What if you've been conned by a good impersonator? I don't know the whole story, but I know it has happened. That means it might happen again.

Someone in the industry pointed out to me that for a guy (guess it could be a girl too, but let's assume here that this is a guy) to do this he'd have to have a very low self-esteem. He'd have to believe he wouldn't "get the girl" without loaning someone else's identity. They may see it as easier than having to accomplish something on their own. Many girls are actually attracted to the power a man wields. At least that's what we've been told over and over in Hollywood. Men with power over a company, power over careers, power over money. Power can also take another form: Influence - because he is visible, is handsome, a good actor or a good singer/musician. Able to convey feelings to those who watch / listen - and as a result - attractive to a lot of women. That's the power we're talking about here.

Well, how would this play out? Since I haven't been this situation (to my knowledge), I don't know what would happen. I'm left to use my imagination.

One thing you can be sure of. The fake celebrity has some goal in mind!

It could be just to boost his self image. After all that's one of the first things that happens to a star once he hits. Like I said in "Sex, Drugs and Rock'n roll", all the attention may change him into believing he really is great. Same goes for the fake, unless he remembers he's not really the star.

Another goal might be to "get the girl". The problem with this scenario is that both fakes and stars alike might suffer from that ailment! I know a lot of stars are married, and hopefully bedding another girl will be the farthest from their minds, but if there are stars who are chasing girls the rumor of that will probably not reach us that easily, simply because they're being protected by the people around them. We've seen the stories in the papers about really big stars. True or untrue. The paparazzi will chase them down, get photos, and imagine the rest. If I heard a rumor about one of the less well known stars, however, I definitely wouldn't repeat it, and many are like me in that regard. Just set your own boundaries, and don't get involved too easily. There's one thing I've been thinking about lately: We hear about ladies suing stars for fathering their children. Every now and then the star claims never to have even met the lady. What if they were actually in bed with a fake? I mean, it boggles the mind that a guy would look so much alike they couldn't tell the difference even that close up - still, there are doubles out there, although how could they look that much alike? I mean, we've all seen photos of stars glammed up for Hollywood - and they don't necessarily look the same when going for a walk with the dog, but still?

One reaction I got from someone who read this article was that for someone to be so much alike they could be mistaken for each other they had to be identical twins. Tough one! Yeah, that's true in most situations, but still, people are taken in by impersonators, so there has to be an explanation why they are conned. People often change over time. A movie, or photos from ten years ago may not depict an actor as he looks today. If there are no current photos floating around, a less than honest person may try getting people to accept that the actor has changed a lot... Many people don't seem to change a lot. Even so, some people change so much they are not recognizable unless you know them well. I'm constantly being asked about current photos and info on actors. Often the photos available are old, because a lot of these actors value their privacy. Actors who are very visible, such as Adam Beach (constantly filming these days) probably won't be "faked" all that easily, but for people with less access to current information about actors not currently featured it could be a bit more dicey. There are lookalikes who are hired out as models and earn a living portraying celebrities (Princess Di lookalikes were plentiful). These are open about it and earn an honest living off this (though objectionable at times - porn models, appearing in commercials...), because they are hired out by agencies specializing in this kind of thing.

Another ruse might be to get money. I've heard tales (don't know if they're true) of people running up huge bills pretending to be someone rich (not necessarily famous). In this scenario a better ruse might be to squeeze YOU for money. One time I was in Hollywood I met two guys (true story). I said I didn't know anything about the music business (not true, but I was being modest for once), and one of them said they could make a lot of money off me. I got offended, but after a while I realized it could have worked if I'd been a slightly different type of person. Since then I've learned a lot about possible schemes in the music business, and a lot of people actually fall for these ploys.

On the net you really have to be careful. I'm sure we've all heard of those people getting a lookalike e-mail address for the president. All fakes but one or two, as far as I've heard. It's far too easy to dream up a different identity, and if you're good you won't be found out that easily. If you take someone else's identity, things will get chancier once you get across people who are willing to find out the truth, still, people pretend to be someone they're not all the time on the net, so be careful. We've had several cases on the EricBoard of people stretching the truth, to make themselves look more important. It's gotten to the point probably none of the regulars would believe it if someone told the truth!!!

OK, I've talked about what might happen. I don't have the imagination to dream up more scenarios right now. Maybe you can tell me more?

What I really want to tell you is how to blow the lid off a fake:

One thing you shouldn't underestimate is your gut feeling. You may feel something's slightly off. Some tight feeling in your gut. I'm sure you could get that feeling even if you're being taken advantage of by a real star, but your gut feeling isn't something you shouldn't go against too many times, or you could live to regret it.

Another thing is that a fake may be tempted to take advantage of you financially or sexually (he'd really have to have a good story to be able to pull that one off, but still. I've heard of one story when two women got married after meeting on the net, the bridegroom passing herself off as a man, and the "man" was able to deceive her bride for a long time before finally being found out). You could also be taken advantage of by a real star, but it's something that should make you inquire - so at least you'll know what you're getting into.

The best way to find out if you've been duped is to call the agent or management of that star. You can get the phone number through SAG in LA if he's with the SAG. There are also other agencies he may be registered with, but this should be your first phone call. Then call the management or agent. Specific dates and locations might get you an answer right away if it could be the star. Just don't be tempted to use this ploy to get in touch with a star. Make up a story like that and you may be caught in the middle once the shit hits the fan. There are possible criminal charges waiting for the fake, especially if he's been luring money from people, but also for reasons I can't imagine right now.

Cases:
I've received a few cases since I began writing on this piece, people who believe I'm right in writing this, and contributing their own writing to back up my failing imagination with some facts:

1) The Michael Myette case. Michael Myette allegedly conned a fan of Michael Biehn big time by pretending to be him. He has been charged, but had not yet been arraigned at the time this piece was written.

2) An impersonator has allegedly been operating in Louisiana and Texas, pretending to be Hank Williams jr (the hyperlink to this story died, unfortunately. I'll look through my archives and see if I can find the document).

3) Eagles impersonator arrested.

4) I received a "testimonial" from someone who knew two men (friends, not twins!) who were so much alike their parents and spouses had trouble knowing who was which until they were six inches apart!!! OK, this has got to be rare, but it goes to show that it is possible.

5) I received this via e-mail from Sandy. Haven't had it confirmed that it was indeed on Unsolved Mysteries, but that should be possible to confirm. To confirm the authenticity and accurateness of the account on Unsolved Mysteries may be trickier, because unless someone was subsequently prosecuted and convicted of this it would be harder to find public records of it, if I remember correctly.

Such a case was profiled several years ago on Unsolved Mysteries. A woman was conned out of her life savings. The man claimed to be a world-famous Formula One car driver from Britain. Ironically, the woman was a huge Formula One car racing fan and a big fan of this particular driver and knew what he looked like. Yet, she was duped into believing the fake was the real thing. He handed her a line about taking time off from driving to pursue other business interests. One thing lead to another and they started dating and then he moved in with her. He mooched off of her almost from day one.

Even though her gut feeling told her that something was wrong with this picture -- why would a handsome, rich, famous man be with me -- she was so enthralled with the idea of being with him, that she threw caution to the wind. She also ignored all other red flags that went up during the relationship and continued handing money over to him. He told her that he needed money right away for a hot business proposition but that he didn't have money in an American bank. She wrote him a check, which amounted to her entire life savings, and in return he gave her a check drawn on a Italian bank. She was quite relieved when the check cleared because at this point she was starting to worry. Eventually she got sick of his mooching and she threw him out. Several weeks later, she got a notice from her bank that his check bounced due to insufficient funds. She had to sell her house in order to pay back her bank. So she lost her house, her life savings, her dignity and her peace of mind.

This con man was so smooth and convincing that he not only conned this woman but others as well. He ran up huge bills, which he never paid, at local hotels and restaurants. He also got a local car dealer to loan him a Mercedes.

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