# In ancient times how did they prevent people from misrepresenting themselves (e.g. "Hello, I am the king of Someplace You Never Heard Of") and commiting fraud?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-ancient-times-how-did-they-prevent-people-from-misrepresenting-themselves-e-g-hello-i-am-the-king-of-someplace-you-never-heard-of-and-commiting-fraud/1027174>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 30, 2026, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-ancient-times-how-did-they-prevent-people-from-misrepresenting-themselves-e-g-hello-i-am-the-king-of-someplace-you-never-heard-of-and-commiting-fraud/1027174 "2026-01-30T00:43:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-ancient-times-how-did-they-prevent-people-from-misrepresenting-themselves-e-g-hello-i-am-the-king-of-someplace-you-never-heard-of-and-commiting-fraud/1027174/61 "2026-03-09T12:50:25Z")

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And even earlier in Douglas Fairbanks’ 1924 _Thief of Bagdad_

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**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-ancient-times-how-did-they-prevent-people-from-misrepresenting-themselves-e-g-hello-i-am-the-king-of-someplace-you-never-heard-of-and-commiting-fraud/1027174/62 "2026-03-13T00:41:40Z")

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Also the original fairytale of Puss in Boots. No genie, but a hyper-competent cat.

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