Identity Matters Before Activity

Where Substitution Slips In

It usually begins politely. A confident intermediary. A capable assistant. A “friend helping out.”

Nothing feels adversarial. Nothing feels deceptive. Yet the principal—the person with actual authority—never appears.

This is not unusual. It is familiar. And that familiarity is the risk.

Why This Pattern Feels Harmless

Identity substitution does not rely on false documents or forged signatures. It relies on social dynamics.

Courtesy replaces verification. Momentum replaces clarity. Professionalism quietly shifts from judgment to accommodation.

The substitute sounds reasonable because that is the point.

How Authority Gets Assumed

This pattern takes hold when one person speaks for another—not once, but repeatedly.

The decision-maker remains absent. Clarifications are deferred. Verification is framed as unnecessary friction.

Nothing breaks. Nothing collapses. Structure simply erodes.

Where Professionals Get Exposed

Exposure does not come from negligence. It comes from courtesy.

The moment process bends to preserve momentum, discretion replaces structure. Authority is assumed rather than confirmed.

Most professionals do not realize this has happened until much later.

AVOID: Accommodating Before Verifying

Structure exists for moments like this. Not to slow things down, but to remove judgment from situations where judgment is most vulnerable.

Clear identity. Clear authority. Clear continuity.

When structure holds, substitution fails.

Matt Cooper
Owner | Broker of Record
Durham Home Key Realty