Mysterious stickers warning of “legal name fraud” have been spotted in Doncaster – almost ten years on from a billboard poster campaign across the UK.

The message on the stickers – which have been seen in a number of locations across Doncaster - spell out in bold capital letters: "LEGAL NAME FRAUD.

Then below: "THE TRUTH." And finally: "IT'S ILLEGAL TO USE A LEGAL NAME."

In 2016, posters appeared in London, Birmingham, Dundee, Essex, Gloucester, Grimsby, Guildford, Lincoln, Liverpool, Plymouth, Reading, Southport, Teesside and Truro.

Stickers proclaiming the mysterious message have appeared in Doncaster, almost ten years on from a poster billboard campaign across the UK.

placeholder image — Stickers proclaiming the mysterious message have appeared in Doncaster, almost ten years on from a poster billboard campaign across the UK.

A Facebook page dedicated to posting photos of the billboards includes dozens more. Another website has more than 120 images of "legal name fraud" posters.

Now it seems the message has re-appeared in sticker form.

A site called legalnamefraud.com outlines a theory that when your birth was registered, a legal entity - your legal name - was created.

A study carried out by the BBC in 2016 said: “But the legal entity "Jane Smith" is distinct from the actual physical person Jane Smith, the website says.

“When your parents registered your birth on the certificate, it insists, they unknowingly gave the Crown Corporation ownership of your name. "Simply thus, all legal names are owned by the Crown, and therefore using a legal name without their written permission is fraud."

Does this interpretation of the law have any validity?

"Absolutely not. Absolutely none at all," barrister, law blogger and lecturer Carl Gardner, told the BBC.

"It's a kind of brew of pseudo-legal ideas. It's the equivalent of thinking Harry Potter is science."

The website includes numerous quotes by "Kate of Gaia" as well as articles and videos by her. It links to another website, which gives her full name as Kate Renee Thompson and provides a Canadian email address.

Gardner says legalnamefraud.com's arguments are similar to those of the "Freemen-on-the-Land" movement - a group of individuals who argue they are bound by laws only if they consent to them, often in the hope of escaping debts and criminal charges - and the related "Sovereign Citizen" movement.

David Allen Green, the legal commentator and solicitor at Preiskel & Co LLP described the theory as "complete tosh" and warns people against relying on it in court.

He adds: "It is nothing about law, and it is not harmless. Taking this daftness seriously can be legally dangerous. If people try to use such things to avoid their legal obligations they can end up with county court judgments or even criminal convictions. You may as well walk into court with a t-shirt saying 'I am an idiot'."