Wow, speaking of using pictures for identification, have you read the story about Todd Shriber, communications director for U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg (R-MT)?

I hate to give away the punchline, but you have to read this to believe it:

The ‘hackers’ ask for pictures of the campus with squirrels and pigeons to make sure he’s ‘legit’. He says he doesn’t live near campus anymore. Remember, he lives in DC, not Texas. So they tell him any picture of a pigeon or squirrel will do.

I mean what more proof of your legitimacy (of anything) do you need other than a picture of a pigeon or squirrel? They are so unique; practically a secret.

The email thread is simply amazing. I love the part where Shriber asks if it has to be a pigeon:

I honestly cannot rember if there were pigeons on campus or not. A lot of crazy squirrels, but I can’t remember pigeons.

I hope to see dramatic interpretations of this whole thing in online video format any day now:

…let’s be clear. You are soliciting me to break the law and hack into a computer across state lines. That is a federal offense and multiple felonies. Obviously I can’t trust anyone and everyone that mails such a request, you might be an FBI agent, right?

So, I need three things to make this happen:

1. A picture of a squirrel or pigeon on your campus. One close-up, one with background that shows buildings, a sign, or something to indicate you are standing on the campus.

ROFL!

Please note that I’ve added an image of a squirrel to this post to help provide legitimacy. Yes, that’s a genuine image of a squirrel. I might even go so far as to call it a seal of legitimacy, but squirrels really aren’t related to seals.

EDITED TO ADD (27 Dec 2006): Bruce has picked up the story on his blog, although for some odd reason he describes it as “the problem with ‘hiring hackers'”.