BARROW has become embroiled in a bizarre 'legal name fraud' mystery.

The message on the billboard, which has been posted at the Craven Park roundabout in Barrow, is spelled out in bold capital letters: "LEGAL NAME FRAUD. IT'S ILLEGAL TO USE A LEGAL NAME."

The Evening Mail understands such advertising campaigns would be expected to cost in the region of tens of thousands of pounds.

According to a BBC London article, a Google search revealed similar posters have appeared in Birmingham, Dundee, Essex,Gloucester, Grimsby, Guildford, Lincoln, Liverpool, Plymouth, Reading, Southport, Teesside and Truro, and in each the local press has reacted with varying levels of bemusement.

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.

A further web search leads to a site called legalnamefraud.com, which outlines a theory that when your birth was registered, a legal entity - your legal name - was created.

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."

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.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has confirmed it had received seven complaints about the posters on the basis that they were ambiguous or misleading.

"Some questioned whether it would lead law-abiding people into thinking they've committed fraud or a crime by having a name," a spokesman said.

However, the ASA said it did not consider there were grounds for further investigation.

While it acknowledged the advert "may appear somewhat confusing to consumers and it wasn't initially clear what it was for or what it means", its message "was not particularly harmful, misleading or likely to cause widespread offence, and unlikely to cause consumers confusion regarding their own name".

For this reason, the ASA had not made contact with the advertiser and cannot shed any light on their identity.