Legal-criminal analysis of the crime of false identity

URL: https://dspace.academy.police.md/legal-criminal-analysis-of-the-crime-of-false-identity/

Data: 2025

In the digital age and amidst the rapid growth of online interactions, identity protection has become a major challenge for both criminal and civil legislation. The exponential increase in the use of social media platforms, electronic services, and remote communication tools has enabled new means by which a person’s identity may be falsified or used fraudulently. The illegal presentation under a false identity, or assigning such an identity to another person, whether through official documents or digital instruments (e.g., online accounts, email addresses, or phone numbers), raises complex legal issues concerning criminal liability, the protection of individual rights, and information security. This article aims to provide a criminal legal analysis of the act of illegal presentation under a false identity or the assignment of such identity to another person using official documents, user accounts on social platforms, email addresses, phone numbers, access cards, or other information society services. It will particularly highlight the distinction between fraudulent use of identity and the use of pseudonyms that do not infringe upon others’ rights.