“This fraud destroyed my life.” Man ends up with criminal record after ID was stolen

This is a sad story that illustrates how losing your ID can effectively ruin your life and reputation.

19-year-old dual German Tunisian national Rami Battikh travelled to the UK in 2019, bringing both his passport and his German national ID. When he returned to Germany, Rami noticed that his German ID card was missing. He figured he either lost it or someone stole it.

Without giving it much thought, he applied for a new one. This was issued without any problem since he could prove his identity.

Fast forward a few years, and Rami applied for a job after finishing school and a vocational apprenticeship. A routine employer check showed that Rami had a criminal record. In London.

The criminal record contains crimes he allegedly committed in the UK while he was in Tunisia.

“I couldn’t believe it. I told my employers that it was not true that for sure it was not me, that I had proof I wasn’t in the UK at that time as I was in Tunisia at the time and had stamps on my passport to prove it.”

But his would-be employers who were eager to hire him said they couldn’t just take his word over a police record.

Back in London in 2021, a man was jailed by a court in London for 18 months for a series of offences including driving without a license or insurance, fraud by false representation, and possession of a false, improperly obtained identity document belonging to another person. Can you guess whose identity document that was?

Unfortunately, the crimes were actually recorded against Rami’s stolen ID. So, he hired a solicitor to get things sorted.

A judge tried to get London’s Metropolitan Police to rectify the error in 2022, describing it as a “mess” that had stained the German national’s record.

But the false database entry persisted and to make things worse, additional crimes were recorded against his stolen ID in London including possession of a knife in a public place.

Despite having confirmation from a judge, the Metropolitan Police haven’t managed to purge the false record, which has left Rami devastated.

He wrote to the court:

“This fraud destroys my life. I can’t get any jobs. Please if you need I will give you my fingerprints, a hair strand … I can’t live like this any more. I am innocent and I never did any of those criminal acts I beg for help.”

At 24 he has no prospect of a job, has had to sell his car to cover bills, and is now sharing his story because he is desperate and doesn’t know what to do.

The Metropolitan Police said:

“We are aware of this case and we continue to work with other agencies to progress this with a view to having the situation rectified. We understand that the length of time this has taken has added to the concern and upset, but aim to provide an update to the applicant in the near future.”

Sadly, this doesn’t sound too reassuring three years after the judge’s decision.

Not every identity theft story is as life-altering as this. But having your data stolen can still have an impact on your life, your family, and your finances.

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