The crime of usurpation of identity is typified in art. 401 of the Penal Code, which punishes the person who usurps the civil status of another, with a prison sentence of 6 months to 3 years.

The Courts understand that, in order to appreciate this crime, it is not enough that the perpetrator uses the name and surname of another person in a continuous manner over time, but it is necessary that he does something that only that person can do because of his powers, rights or obligations that correspond to him. For example, the perpetrator of this crime would be the person who acts as if he were another person to collect money that belongs to the latter, or the person who acts impersonating another person in a judicial claim to unduly collect money (STS no. 635/2009, of June 15).

Nowadays, there are frequent cases of identity theft in social networks, carried out through the hacking of accounts or the creation of fake profiles in applications such as Instagram or Facebook. However, in the vast majority of cases the facts will not constitute a crime of usurpation of civil status of art. 401 of the Penal Code, without prejudice to the fact that the facts may constitute other crimes, for violating, for example, the right to one’s own image.