British man told he had died in Spain after identity impersonator used his details for years

A father of two from Kent was left in shock when two police officers arrived at his parents’ door on Aug. 15 to tell them he had died in Spain. Nathan Blake, 35, rushed to his family’s home to prove he was alive after a surreal phone call from his mother. Blake, a quantity surveyor who lives in Aylesford, said the moment felt like a prank gone wrong, but the reality sounded more like a nightmare.

Blake then learned that an impersonator had masqueraded as him for three years, using Blake’s name and passport number after being arrested in Barcelona in 2022, presumably with fake documents. The British consulate told him the claim was false and that someone had been exploiting his identity abroad for years. With his passport in hand, Blake headed to his parents’ house to present himself in person and confirm he was alive.

The case appears to involve a man who was found carrying two different aliases over a three-year period. When the imposter died, Spanish authorities reportedly found Blake’s identification on his person. It remains unclear how the conman obtained Blake’s details, though investigators suggest a link to Blake’s Barcelona visit for a stag party just months earlier. Blake said he could not rule out the possibility that personal data might have been compromised during that trip, which would have allowed someone to cobble together a convincing false identity.

Blake described his initial reaction as one of complete disbelief. “My body went into a state of shock. I was shaken up a bit. It was so surreal and I didn’t believe what was going on,” he said. “I’d just got out of the bath and my mum called me. She said, ‘I have the police here,’ and I asked, ‘What have I done?’ They’d come round to tell them that I’d died and that Spanish police had informed them that I was dead out there but obviously I wasn’t.” He recalled the police officer who delivered the news apologizing and noting that they had never encountered something like this previously.

The investigation has left Blake worried about potential consequences if his identity remains entangled with someone else’s criminal record. He told the consulate that he hoped Spanish authorities would remove the death record from public files and that a Spanish lawyer would check whether his name appears in any other criminal records in the coming months. “I have no idea how he got hold of my details,” Blake said. “The story the British consulate told me was that he got arrested in Barcelona and gave all my details. He must’ve had something to corroborate that. He’d been tracked for a couple of years and when he died he had two aliases on him and the one they went with was mine. I don’t know enough about the situation and what crimes had been committed. It’s just crazy.”

His partner, Holly West, has been vocal about the ordeal and has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover legal costs to clear Blake’s name. West described the incident as unbelievable and said she began questioning whether the situation could have been foiled earlier by authorities. “It’s outrageous. It’s so comical he was in the bath, and I phoned Kent Police to explain my concerns because I just wanted to confirm this was genuine,” she said. “They said they’d had a call about this earlier; this is a genuine call-out.” West added that the couple had traveled to Spain since and nothing had flagged Blake as a criminal, underscoring the chaos of mistaken identity.

Blake said the encounter left him wary about future travel and the potential for a passport block or arrest abroad if his name remains tied to another person’s alleged activities. “I’m innocent in this, so it’s unfair. I have to stress about all this stuff. I just want to get it resolved,” he said. The couple emphasized that their aim is simply to restore Blake’s good name and ensure that a public record reflects the truth.

Kent Police confirmed that the call-out to Blake’s parents’ door was genuine and said they would support efforts to resolve the matter. They urged anyone facing identity-related concerns to report them promptly.

The episode highlights the vulnerability of personal data and how easily a name and passport number can be misused when data falls into the wrong hands. As Blake pursues legal avenues in Spain and the GoFundMe campaign works to fund representation, the case serves as a cautionary tale about identity protection and cross-border data risks.