Using an Alias

Factual Questions
1

I want to begin using an alias in my day-to-day life. Are there any requirements/paperwork I would need to take care of first? Can I register a business under an alias? What if someone wrote a check to my alias, could I deposit it? Can I enter into contracts under an alias? I’m not looking to do anything illegal; I just want to maintain my privacy.

2

I think you would have to legally change your name to get any sort of identification that could be used for checks, contracts, businesses etc.
-Droc

3

The laws depend on where you are. So you have to tell us that first.

4

Cecil has discussed this in the column Is it illegal to take a newborn home from the hospital without naming it first?

5

I’m in Caifornia, and I’m not intersted in legally changing my name. I just want two identities—one for my personal life and one for my professional life. Again, I’m not trying to do anything illegal, I just want my privacy.

6

You can use any name you want as long as it isn’t for fraud or other illegal activities. The hard part is getting OTHER people to use it.

I’m one of these people that has no middle name. When I got my DL they gave it to me. When I got my state ID they insisted on a middle inital, so I made one up. I used J. Since my name is Mark, someone at a place I worked spelled it Marc. Since then I must’ve signed my name quick on something as I got my library card under Mark K “Smith” (made up last name).

So then I got my checking account under M Smith. And another accout under M John Smith. (I told them my middle name is John. They took it as my State ID said Mark J Smith but my DL say just Mark Smith.

So I have a bunch of differnt ways to ID myself. If you want to change your ID just start slow. If you want to LOSE yourself there is a MUCH better way.

Take the name Smith. I know a guy who’s name is actually that. You can’t find him anywhere as there are so many of them. People looking for you will give up. My real name is very unique so if you look for it on the internet it will easily come up.

7

You can register a business alias; its called an assumed name or a “dba”, “doing business as”. You pay a filing fee to a county clerk who maintains a database of assumed names. Why? Well if you issue a contract under the dba, whom should an aggrieved party sue? The dba? No. You.

At one point in our society the death records were not considered very important. This was the first step in getting a false identity. Find a person of your same sex, and birth year who died. Get the birth certificate, then, get a ssN, then get a drivers license, then get a new life. Not anymore. We are picking up where the Russians left off; comrad.

The war on terror is a war on freedom; and that includes your ability to to escape notice for your deeds. You even have to cough up a SSN number to get a phone number in a name, and they do match them. To create an alias today, probably puts you in jepordy of goin to jail under some terrorism statute. The only thing I’ve read that may work is to get a second passport from another country where you have legaly changed your name.