Verifying a claim

Names, dates and the same-person problem

2 of 2 lessons

Almost every wrong conclusion in this field is a matching name attached to the wrong person.

A name is not an identifier. Common names repeat in the thousands. Transliteration multiplies each one — the same Cyrillic name reaches Latin script as four or five spellings, and different countries transliterate to different conventions. Patronymics appear and disappear. Married names replace maiden names in some records and not others.

What actually identifies somebody in these sources is a number: a company registration number, an IMO number for a vessel, a national identifier where one is lawfully published. When you have one, the match is a match. When you have only a name and a date of birth, you have a candidate.

Write it as a candidate. The association's own results say "potential match", never "identified", and that phrasing is not timidity — it is the accurate description of what a name-based hit is. Somebody may act on your report. Make sure what they act on is what you actually established.

This material is education, not certification, and it does not replace accredited professional or medical training. It describes how the association works; it is not legal advice and confers no powers.

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