Do you share the name of an [in]famous criminal?

Here's another reason why it is a good idea to verify by actually meeting with someone--or adding more descriptors to the search than their name--before Googling them: do they share the same name as a criminal?

Just this past week, police in BC alerted the public about a young woman who had been released from prison but who may still pose a threat to people and animals. Now, another young woman, from the same community, has come forward to say, we share the same name, but its not me. I would like to say that it was foresight on the part of this young woman, but more likely she got scared into making the announcement when she was almost arrested on the SkyTrain.

I'm wondering if you did an ego search on yourself and found that you had an evil twin by name, if you should add this info to your application, just so people don't jump to conclusions. 

Mistaken Internet Identity

Andy Elwood, a contributor at Forbes, has apparently been mistaken for the drunken, duct-taped passenger on the IcelandAir Flight, and he has decided to write about it to clear up the confusion.

This is actually something I have warned people about--not that the IcelandAir flight crew apparently has plastic ties on hand to deal with drunks, but that when you do a Google search on someone, that you are correctly matching the face to the name. This is actually one of the reasons why I don't like it when people tell me they searched someone on Google before an interview: they don't know that this is the person that they are deciding to interview, because they have never met them.

Luckily for Andy Elwood, he has a reputable platform where he can dispel the confusion and can refer to the story if there is every a question about his ability to hold his liquor. There are probably many cases of mistaken Internet identity where the person whose name is sullied can't remove the confusion--especially if employers make assumptions before a meeting.