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An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for impersonating someone:
- Living history: After close study of some historical figure, a performer may dress and speak "as" that person for an audience. Such historical interpretation may be a scripted dramatic performance like Mark Twain Tonight! or an unscripted interaction while staying in character.
- Entertainment: An "impressionist" impersonates well-known figures in order to entertain an audience. Especially popular objects of impersonation are Elvis Presley (see Elvis impersonator), Michael Jackson (see Michael Jackson impersonator) and Madonna (see Madonna impersonator). Other uses of impersonation for entertainment include male drag queens (previously called "female impersonators", although this terminology is now considered outdated.)
- Crime: As part of a criminal act such as identity theft. This is usually where the criminal is trying to assume the identity of another, in order to commit fraud, such as accessing confidential information, or to gain property not belonging to them. Also known as social engineering and impostors.
- Decoys, used as a form of protection for political and military figures. This involves an impersonator who is employed (or forced) to perform during public appearances, to mislead observers.
- Sowing discord, causing people to fight, or dislike each other for social, business or political gain.
Celebrity impersonators
Celebrity impersonators are impostors who look similar to celebrities and dress in such a way as to imitate them. Impersonators are known as sound-alikes, look-alikes, impressionists, imitators tribute artists and wannabees. The interest may have originated with the need or desire to see a celebrity who has died. One of the most prominent examples of this phenomenon is the case of Elvis Presley. Edward Moss has appeared in movies and sitcoms, impersonating Michael Jackson. Tom Jones has attracted his share of impersonators from different places around the world. From the United States, to South East Asia, to the UK, there are performers who either sound like him or imitate his act.
Criminal impersonation
In England and Wales, the Poor Law Amendment Act 1851, section 3, made it an offence to impersonate a "person entitled to vote" at an election. In the case of Whiteley v Chappell (1868), the literal rule of statutory interpretation was employed to find that a dead person was not a "person entitled to vote" and consequently a person accused of this offence was acquitted.
Although in a Colorado case, an immigrant was charged with "criminal impersonation" for using another person's Social Security number when signing up for a job, some courts have ruled that supplying this wrong information may not be criminal. The ruling hinges on whether there was harm to the other person.
Impersonation using Deepfake
Main article: DeepfakeAudio deepfakes have been used as part of social engineering scams, fooling people into thinking they are receiving instructions from a trusted individual. In 2019, a U.K.-based energy firm's CEO was scammed over the phone when he was ordered to transfer €220,000 into a Hungarian bank account by an individual who used audio deepfake technology to impersonate the voice of the firm's parent company's chief executive.
As of 2023, the combination advances in deepfake technology, which could clone an individual's voice from a recording of a few seconds to a minute, and new text generation tools, enabled automated impersonation scams, targeting victims using a convincing digital clone of a friend or relative.
See also
- Impressionist
- Look-alike
- Personation
- Police impersonation
- Shi (personator), in the Chinese ancestor ritual: a figure impersonating ancestors
- Soundboard, victim soundboard
- Tribute act
- Wannabe
- Identity fraud
- Identity theft
References
- "Impersonator". The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
- "Town of the Living Dead". LA Review of Books. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
He is a Ralph Waldo Emerson reenactor. This man gets paid to dress like, act like, and speak like Ralph Waldo Emerson. He's 63 years old and wears a black frock coat...'I use the term 'historic interpreter' or 'living historian.' But when people say 'impersonator,' that doesn't bother me.'
- Baker, Bob (3 March 2005). "King of Pop impersonator star of E! trial re-enactment". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 9 July 2009.
- John, Alex. "Damn Salvatore Rule". Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- "Column: Golden Knights give Vegas a real sense of community". Los Angeles Times. 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
- Billboard, 9 May 1998 - Page 60 Newsmakers, Now The Real Thing.
- MICHAEL, STUART. "Warren makes time for grandson". The Star. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
- "Stars shine for Sam Sorono at hospice fundraiser - VIDEO - The Star". 2018-04-19. Archived from the original on 2018-04-19.
- The Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission, The Interpretation of Statutes, footnote 66, page 18, published 9 June 1969, accessed 17 December 2022
- "Using false S.S. number not impersonation". UPI. October 28, 2010.
- Statt, Nick (5 Sep 2019). "Thieves are now using AI deepfakes to trick companies into sending them money". Archived from the original on 15 September 2019. Retrieved 13 Sep 2019.
- Damiani, Jesse. "A Voice Deepfake Was Used To Scam A CEO Out Of $243,000". Forbes. Archived from the original on 14 September 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
- Schwartz, Christopher; Wright, Matthew (17 March 2023). "Voice deepfakes are calling – here's what they are and how to avoid getting scammed". The Conversation.
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